cop.  2. 


ESTHER  T.  BARTON 

A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


LIBRAHY 

OF   THE 

U  N  IVE.RSITY 

Of    ILLINOIS 

s> 

B2934l> 

top.  Z 


Illinois  Historical  Survey 


ESTHER  T.  BARTON 

A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


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ESTHER  T.  BARTON 

A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


IN  HER  BELOVED  MEMORY  THIS  BOOK  IS  PREPARED 

BY  HER  HUSBAND 

REV.  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON,  D.  D. 


PINE  KNOLL,  ON  SUNSET  LAKE 
FOXBORO,  MASSACHUSETTS 


Copyright  1926 
By  William  E.  Barton 


CONTENTS 


Page 

I  WHAT  THE  BIBLE  SAYS  OF  HER 5 

II   BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 7 

I  Her  Childhood 7 

II  The  Little  School  Teacher 10 

III  In  the  Tennessee  Mountains 11 

IV  Oberlin  and  Litchfield 16 

V  Wellington 20 

VI  Boston 21 

VII  Oak  Park 24 

VIII  The  Travels  of  Keturah 26 

IX  Berea  College  Water  Works 28 

X  In  War  and  Peace 29 

XI  Around  the  World 31 

XII  Summer  and  Autumn 36 

XIII  Tributes  of  Affection 50 

XIV  The  Funeral 51 

XV  The  Memorial  Services 53 

XVI  Some  of  Her  Memorials 55 

XVII  A  Life  of  the  Beatitudes 57 

III  FOUR  TRIBUTES  TO  HER  MEMORY 61 

I  Saint  Esther 61 

Prof.  Clarence  A.  Beckwith,  D.D. 

II  The  Mistress  of  the  Manse 67 

Mrs.  George  A.  Davidson 

III  A  Friend  of  the  Friendless 73 

Mrs.  James  H.  Moore 

IV  A  Tribute  to  Keturah 75 

Miss  Grace  M.  Chapin 

IV  TWO  PARABLES 81 

I  The  Footstep  on  the  Stair     .       .       .       .       .       .83 

II  The  Taj  Mahal 85 


4 


A  worthy  woman  who  can  find?  For  her  price  is  far 
Jl  JL  above  rubies.  The  heart  of  her  husband  trusteth  in  her, 
and  he  shall  have  no  lack  of  gain.  She  doeth  him  good  and 
not  evil  all  the  days  of  her  life.  She  seeketh  wool  and  flax,  and 
worketh  willingly  with  her  hands.  She  is  like  the  merchant- 
ships;  she  bringeth  her  bread  from  afar.  She  riseth  also  while 
it  is  yet  night,  and  givethfood  to  her  household,  and  their  task 
to  her  maidens.  She  considereth  afield,  and  buyeth  it;  with  the 
fruit  of  her  hands  she  planteth  a  vineyard.  She  girdeth  her 
loins  with  strength,  and  maketh  strong  her  arms.  She  per- 
ceiveth  that  her  merchandise  is  profitable;  her  lamp  goeth  not 
out  by  night.  She  layeth  her  hands  to  the  distaff,  and  her  hands 
hold  the  spindle.  She  stretcheth  out  her  hands  to  the  poor;  yea, 
she  reacheth  forth  her  hands  to  the  needy.  She  is  not  afraid  of 
the  snow  for  her  household;  for  all  her  household  are  clothed 
with  scarlet.  She  maketh  for  herself  carpets  of  tapestry,  her 
clothing  is  fine  linen  and  purple.  Her  husband  is  known  in 
the  gates,  when  he  sitteth  among  the  elders  of  the  land.  She 
maketh  linen  garments  and  selleth  them,  and  delivereth  girdles 
unto  the  merchant.  Strength  and  dignity  are  her  clothing;  and 
she  laugheth  at  the  time  to  come.  She  openeth  her  mouth  with 
wisdom;  and  the  law  of  kindness  is  on  her  tongue.  She  looketh 


well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth  not  the  bread  of 
idleness.  Her  children  rise  up,  and  call  her  blessed;  her  hus- 
band also,  and  he  praiseth  her,  saying:  Many  daughters  have 
done  worthily,  but  thou  excelleth  them  all.  Grace  is  deceitful, 
and  beauty  is  vain;  but  a  woman  that  feareth  Jehovah,  she 
shall  be  praised.  Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands;  and  let  her 

works  praise  her  in  the  gates. 

Proverbs  31:  v.  10-31. 


ESTHER  T.  BARTON 

A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


I — Her  Childhood 

Esther  Treat  Bushnell  was  born  in  Johnston,  Trum- 
bull County,  Ohio,  the  sixth  in  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  Ann  (Treat)  Bushnell.  That 
corner  of  Ohio,  "the  Western  Reserve,"  is  a  transplanted 
section  of  Connecticut,  and  all  Esther's  ancestors,  in  every 
line,  direct  and  collateral,  were  of  the  oldest  families  in  that 
state.  On  her  father's  side  she  was  of  the  noted  Bushnell 
family,  descended  from  Francis  Bushnell,  "ye  Elder,"  third 
signer  of  the  Guilford  covenant  in  1636.  On  her  mother's 
side  she  traced  her  descent  in  direct  line  from  Governor 
Robert  Treat  of  the  Charter  Oak.  Among  her  ancestors  were 
John  Davenport,  founder  of  New  Haven,  and  Abraham 
Pierson,  first  President  of  Yale.  Of  the  twenty-four  "sure- 
ties" who  signed  Magna  Charta,  six  were  her  ancestors.  She 
was  said  to  resemble  in  face  and  figure  a  great-grandmother, 
Honor  Hubbard,  through  whom  descent  has  been  traced 
from  William  the  Conqueror  and  Charlemagne.  Her  mem- 

7 


8  Ii*  ESTHER    T.    BARTON 

bership  in  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  was 
secured  on  the  services  of  no  less  than  four  ancestors  who 
fought  in  the  Revolution.  Ministers,  governors,  and  men 
distinguished  for  services  in  many  departments  of  activity, 
as  well  as  untitled  farmers  and  tradesmen,  were  among  her 
forebears  who  gave  their  life  to  the  history  of  Connecticut 
and  later  of  Ohio,  where  her  great-grandparents  were  pio- 
neers. Hers  was  a  very  modest  pride  in  these  matters,  but 
she  was  unfeignedly  proud  of  the  fact  that  no  investigation 
of  her  lineage  showed  a  single  criminal,  drunkard,  pauper,  or 
person  of  feeble  mind. 

Her  father  was  a  farmer  in  reasonably  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances. Hard  work  was  the  lot  of  every  member  of  the 
family,  but  it  was  the  ordinary  work  of  a  prosperous  farm. 
As  a  little  girl  she  was  a  fearless  climber  and  bareback  rider. 
She  rode  and  drove  horses  with  calm  control  and  sound  judg- 
ment. She  was  familiar  with  the  arts  of  the  dairy,  the  garden 
and  the  sugar-camp  where  annually  hard  work  was  mingled 
with  merriment  in  the  making  of  maple  sugar. 

No  very  serious  accidents  or  mishaps  troubled  the 
memory  of  her  childhood,  except  one.  That  was  the  time  she 
ran  a  needle,  full  length,  into  her  knee.  She  was  a  very  little 
girl  at  the  time,  but  she  remembered  all  about  it.  Her  father, 
who  was  a  man  of  deep  sympathy  but  resolute  character, 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  -cj9 

examined  the  knee  and  knew  the  needle  must  be  cut  out.  The 
pain  of  the  needle  and  the  sight  of  his  sharpened  razor  terri- 
fied her.  But  there  was  a  little  red  pillow  that  she  greatly 
admired;  if  she  could  have  that  to  bury  her  face  in,  so  that 
she  could  not  see  the  razor  when  it  cut,  she  would  try  hard 
not  to  cry  —  much.  Burying  her  face  in  the  red  pillow,  she 
gave  her  muffled  word  that  she  was  ready.  A  skillful  cut 
exposed  the  needle,  which  her  father  drew  forth.  She  kept  it 
in  a  little  phial  and  always  remembered  how  the  little  red 
pillow  helped  her  not  to  cry  very  hard. 

She  attended  the  village  school,  walking  a  full  mile  each 
way  with  her  four  brothers  and  three  sisters.  She  was  a  dark- 
eyed  little  maiden  with  brown,  curly  hair,  and  her  cheeks 
were  as  red  as  the  apples  in  her  dinner  pail. 

Her  parents  were  members  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
which  she  and  all  her  brothers  and  sisters  joined.  It  was  a 
Sabbath-keeping  family,  in  which  the  rigidity  of  Puritan 
tradition  had  slightly  softened,  while  retaining  its  stern 
loyalty  to  religion  and  the  authority  of  conscience. 

Industry,  thrift,  economy  and  generosity  were  the  ruling 
ideals  of  the  home,  and  she  never  remembered  her  girlhood 
as  one  of  deprivation  either  of  comfort  or  simple  pleasure. 
Her  parents  were  both  persons  of  alert  mind,  and  given  to 
rather  wide  reading.  The  library  of  books  in  her  home  was 


10  J>  ESTHER   T.   BARTON 

certainly  not  large,  but  was  thoughtfully  chosen.  The  books 
which  Lewis  Bushnell  and  Elizabeth  Treat  gave  to  each 
other  about  the  time  they  were  married  were  serious  books; 
their  titles  might  provoke  a  smile  in  a  flippant  age,  but  they 
were  books  that  showed  ideals  and  character. 

II  —  The  Little  School  Teacher 
All  the  eight  children  in  her  father's  family  were  per- 
jljL  mitted  to  complete  the  work  of  the  common  schools, 
and  those  who  chose  to  go  farther  were  encouraged  to  do  so; 
but  they  had  to  alternate  their  attendance  in  the  academy 
with  school-teaching.  She  attended  the  Orville  Academy,  and 
having  completed  its  work  went  for  a  time  to  college  at 
Meadville,  Pennsylvania.  But  her  success  as  a  teacher  called 
her  back  to  the  schoolroom  in  an  emergency,  and  her  college 
course  was  never  completed — a  matter  which  caused  her 
needless  sorrow. 

A  former  principal  of  the  Academy,  Professor  Prescott  D. 
Dodge,  had  become  professor  of  mathematics  at  Berea  Col- 
lege. Berea  provided  for  primary  instruction  in  the  Model 
Schools  of  its  Normal  Department.  On  the  recommendation 
of  Professor  Dodge  she  was  offered  a  position  as  primary 
teacher,  and  went  to  Kentucky  in  the  autumn  of  1883.  Her 
work  was  an  unqualified  success.  Beloved  by  the  children, 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <J  11 

she  was  admired  and  trusted  by  her  fellow-teachers,  among 
whom  she  herself  was  little  more  than  a  school  girl.  Another 
professor  in  Berea,  Bruce  Hunting,  professor  of  Latin,  had 
invited  a  former  member  of  the  church  he  had  served  as  pas- 
tor in  northern  Illinois  to  come  to  Berea  for  his  college 
course.  At  the  time  Esther  Bushnell  came  to  Berea,  William 
E.  Barton  was  entering  upon  his  Junior  year.  From  the  be- 
ginning they  were  attracted  to  each  other,  and  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  year  were  much  together.  They  climbed  the  Pin- 
nacle, a  mountain  which  later  for  sentiment's  sake  they 
bought,  and  they  took  long  horseback  rides  through  the 
hills.  On  June  15,  1884,  they  became  engaged  to  be  married. 

Ill  —  In  the  Tennessee  Mountains 

On  June  8, 1885,  William  E.  Barton  was  ordained  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  He  had  not  yet  studied  theology, 
except  as  he  had  taken  a  few  elementary  and  very  useful  les- 
sons from  President  E.  H.  Fairchild,  but  he  was  going  into 
the  southern  mountains  where  he  might  not  require  much 
theology,  and  where  he  would  need  to  perform  all  the  offices 
of  a  complete  ministry.  She  was  present  when  he  was  or- 
dained in  the  College  Chapel  in  Berea.  On  the  24th  of  the 
same  month  he  was  graduated,  and  on  the  following  day  they 
both  left  Berea,  she  for  her  Ohio  home  and  he  for  the  home 


12 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  <J  13 

that  was  to  be,  at  Robbins,  Tennessee.  A  Berea  carpenter 
had  drawn  him  the  plan  for  a  house  and  given  him  specifica- 
tions for  material.  He  stopped  in  Danville  and  bought  doors, 
windows  and  simple  furniture,  arriving  next  day  at  Robbins. 
Before  night  he  had  bought  a  home-site,  a  beautiful  spot,  an 
oval  hill  of  somewhat  more  than  two  acres  area.  Before  the 
next  night  the  frame  of  the  building  had  begun.  He  worked 
with  the  carpenters,  preaching  on  Sundays,  and  in  a  little 
more  than  three  weeks  had  the  house  ready  for  occupancy. 
It  was  small,  but  ample,  and  it  was  built  of  selected  southern 
pine,  and  cost  about  $425.  Downstairs  it  had  a  living  room 
and  a  kitchen-dining  room.  Upstairs  was  the  family  bedroom, 
a  guest  room  and  a  study.  With  the  land  and  all  the  furni- 
ture the  cost  was  not  more  than  $1,000. 

Let  no  one  pity  Esther  Bushnell  for  leaving  a  comfort- 
able home  in  Ohio  and  going  to  this  little  white  frame  house 
among  the  Tennessee  hills.  Her  heart  swelled,  not  with  pity 
but  with  pride. 

At  high  noon  on  July  23,  1885,  in  the  old  home  in  Ohio, 
Esther  T.  Bushnell  was  married  to  Rev.  William  E.  Barton. 
The  wedding  was  in  the  home  where  she  was  born,  but  the 
company  thronged  the  front  yard,  and  the  feast  was  spread 
across  the  road,  in  "the  old  house"  that  had  been  the  home 
of  her  great-grandparents.  It  was  indeed  a  feast,  a  hearty 


14  >>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

midday  meal.  Esther's  own  hands  made  the  delicious  wed- 
ding-cake, but  the  ice-cream  was  imported  from  out  of 
town. 

Sisters,  cousins  and  other  relatives  spread  the  tables;  but 
when  they  had  been  set,  and  before  the  guests  began  to  ar- 
rive, she  wanted  to  see  that  all  was  right.  A  light  summer 
rain  had  fallen  in  the  night  and  the  grass  was  wet.  She  had 
on  her  wedding  shoes.  A  wheel-barrow,  that  had  been  in  use 
transporting  eatables  across  the  road,  stood  before  the  front 
door.  The  bridegroom  caught  her  up,  deposited  her  in  the 
wheelbarrow,  and  conveyed  her  across  the  way  and  back 
again.  The  wheelbarrow  did  not  break,  nor  did  any  unto- 
ward event  mar  that  day  or  the  days  that  followed. 

A  few  days  they  spent  at  Chautauqua,  and  then  went  to 
Tennessee.  A  delegation  of  men  met  them  at  the  train,  and 
carried  their  baggage  as  they  ascended  the  hill  to  the  little 
house.  The  women  of  the  parish  were  already  there.  They 
had  sewed  the  word  welcome  in  ferns  on  two  yards  of  white 
cotton  cloth,  tacked  it  to  the  columns  of  the  front  porch  and 
had  it  hanging  there  to  gladden  the  eyes  of  the  young  min- 
ister and  his  bride.  The  table  had  been  set  and  the  pantry 
had  been  stocked.  There  was  a  short  reception  and  introduc- 
tion, then  all  the  friends,  declining  on  account  of  pressing 
engagements  the  invitations  to  stay  and  share  the  meal, 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <  15 

withdrew,  and  left  the  bride  and  groom  alone  in  their  own 
little  home.  With  unfeigned  thankfulness  they  sat  down  to- 
gether, nor  did  there  ever  follow  a  day  when  they  were  not 
happy  and  rich  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  life  there. 

A  horse  was  a  necessity  in  itinerant  pastoral  work,  and  a 
cow  proved  a  desideratum,  for  the  young  couple  were  seldom 
alone  after  the  first  few  days.  Poultry  and  a  garden  they 
kept,  and  she  was  happy  among  her  chickens  and  her  flowers, 
as  also  among  the  vegetables  that  provided  for  the  table. 

The  salary  at  this  time  was  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year, 
and  it  was  ample.  They  lived  well.  Often  she  rode  with  her 
husband  as  he  went  out  into  the  hills  to  preach.  At  other 
times  she  stayed  alone  in  the  house,  and  never  was  in  fear. 

The  work  grew  with  embarrassing  rapidity.  The  young 
preacher  rode  over  the  hills  and  up  the  valleys,  fording 
streams  and  organizing  Sunday  schools,  and  was  soon  over- 
whelmed by  the  magnitude  of  the  work  which  had  been 
created.  He  had  determined  from  the  first  to  pursue  his  edu- 
cation further,  and  it  began  to  seem  as  though  he  would 
never  be  able  to  get  away  to  accomplish  this  desire.  But  in 
the  autumn  of  1887  they  exchanged  the  little  house,  sight 
unseen,  for  a  cottage  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  thither  they 
went.  At  this  time  they  had  one  child,  Bruce,  born  August  5, 
1886.  They  had  taken  a  colored  boy,  Webster,  and  he  rode 


16  J>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

in  the  freight  car  with  the  cow  and  horse.  A  colored  girl,  Re- 
becca, was  presented  to  them  at  the  last  minute.  One  night  at 
midnight  the  fast  train  stopped  at  Robbins,  on  special  orders. 
The  whole  community  stood  weeping  on  the  platform  as  the 
young  minister,  his  wife  and  baby  and  the  maid  took  the 
train  for  the  north. 

IV  —  Oberlin  and  Litchfield 

Timing  their  arrival  to  the  expected  speed  of  their  car  of 
goods,  they  spent  one  night  in  Oberlin  in  the  home  of  a 
friend,  Professor  Charles  G.  Fairchild.  At  midnight  their  car 
arrived.  The  horse  and  cow  were  first  permitted  to  walk  out 
in  the  early  morning,  and  the  horse  was  curried  and  fitted 
with  the  side-saddle,  and  conducted  to  the  door  of  their  tem- 
porary lodging.  About  the  time  Oberlin  had  finished  its 
breakfast  and  was  moving  to  its  class  recitations  and  other 
daily  duties,  there  went  up  South  Professor  Street  and  along 
East  College  to  Spring,  a  young  woman  riding  a  horse  and 
carrying  a  baby  in  her  arms,  while  a  colored  boy  followed, 
leading  a  little  white  cow.  On  the  sidewalk  opposite  moved 
the  young  husband  and  the  colored  girl,  to  the  little  cottage 
numbered  20  Spring  Street,  where  their  home  was  to  be  for 
the  next  three  years. 

After  the  immaculate  cottage  in  Tennessee  with  its  spot- 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        -c|  17 

less  hard  pine  floors,  the  Oberlin  house  looked  shabby.  But 
Webster  and  Rebecca  were  soon  hard  at  the  scrubbing  of 
floors,  and  by  the  time  the  first  wagon-load  of  goods  came 
from  the  car  there  was  a  place  for  them.  Not  in  confusion  and 
disorder,  but  with  calm  and  effective  supervision,  the  Little 
Lady,  glad  of  her  new  home,  directed  the  energies  of  the 
day.  The  family  ate  its  second  and  third  meals  that  day, 
and  slept  that  night,  in  their  own  new  home;  and  by  the 
next  night  the  house  was  in  good,  livable  condition.  There 
on  the  following  Thanksgiving  morning  was  born  the  second 
son,  Charles  William,  and  there,  less  than  two  years  later, 
was  born  the  one  daughter,  Helen  Elizabeth. 

Immediately  the  young  student  accepted  a  pastorate  at 
Litchfield,  nineteen  miles  from  Oberlin,  and  journeyed 
thither  and  back  for  Sunday  services.  The  salary  promised 
was  four  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  the  little  church  inva- 
riably paid  more  than  it  promised,  and  had  a  donation  party 
once  a  year  beside.  Moreover,  there  was  often  a  crock  of 
butter  or  a  ham  or  a  dressed  fowl  or  a  sack  of  oats  slipped  un- 
der the  seat  of  the  buggy  as  the  drive  back  to  Oberlin  was 
about  to  begin. 

But  still  four  hundred  dollars  was  not  enough  for  such  a 
family.  There  was  necessity  for  more  money,  and  it  was 
earned  by  writing  and  lecturing.  Some  lectures  paid  as  much 


18  >-  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

as  ten  dollars  and  others  only  five,  but  all  paid  a  little.  The 
lectures  paid  for  the  new  typewriter;  and  a  payment  of  fif- 
teen dollars  additional  would  procure  a  good  desk.  Esther's 
grandfather,  Deacon  John  Treat,  had  died,  and  his  estate, 
after  payments  for  his  care  in  old  age,  and  bequests  for  for- 
eign missions  and  the  Tract  and  Bible  societies,  left  a  little 
residue  to  be  divided  among  his  numerous  grandchildren. 
Esther  received  fifteen  dollars  as  her  share  of  the  estate,  and 
the  desk  still  belongs  to  the  family. 

The  proceeds  of  the  lectures  were  not  so  heavily  mort- 
gaged in  advance  as  to  prevent  some  happy  extravagances  in 
their  use.  Bruce  never  rode  in  a  baby  carriage;  Webster  had 
taken  him  twice  a  day  for  long  rides  on  horseback.  Charles 
used  a  secondhand  baby  cab,  loaned  by  the  Fairchilds.  But 
Helen  needed  a  carriage  of  her  own.  One  night  a  lecture 
yielded  the  fabulous  honorarium  of  fifteen  dollars.  It  was  a 
large  sum  and  there  were  baby  carriages  to  be  had  for  less, 
but  the  whole  amount  went  to  the  purchase  of  the  royal 
coach. 

Those  were  not  days  of  poverty.  One  night  William  and 
Esther  attended  a  concert  and  sat  behind  the  Oberlin  banker 
and  his  wife.  She  was  wearing  a  new  cloak,  which  Esther  se- 
cretly admired.  There  was  a  duplicate  in  Johnson's  store,  and 
it  was  her  size.  The  price,  as  William  estimated,  would  call 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH         <  19 

for  four  lectures.  It  was  a  proud  day  for  him  when  his  wife 
walked  forth  in  a  cloak  as  good  as  that  of  the  banker's  wife. 

She  always  looked  neat.  Whatever  economies  she  prac- 
ticed in  her  dressmaking,  still  she  looked  well. 

During  a  part  of  his  course,  her  husband  taught  a  large 
Bible  class  in  the  Academy  which  then  was  a  part  of  Oberlin 
College.  For  this  service  of  one  hour  a  week  he  received  two 
dollars  a  week  extra.  Esther  undertook  to  invite  that  whole 
class  to  her  home,  a  dozen  at  a  time,  one  night  in  a  week. 
Webster  and  Rebecca  were  effective  helpers,  but  her  own 
hands  made  the  delicious  rolls  and  the  cocoanut  cake  that 
melted  in  the  mouth. 

After  three  years,  there  came  a  day  when  she  sat  with 
little  Bruce,  and  heard  her  husband's  address  as  valedictorian 
of  his  class.  When  this  function  had  been  performed,  the 
husband  came  down  and  sat  with  her  during  an  anthem,  and 
then,  taking  his  little  boy  by  the  hand,  he  walked  forward  to 
receive  his  diploma  as  a  Bachelor  of  Divinity.  The  little  boy 
carried  the  diploma  back  and  gave  it  to  his  mother.  It  be- 
longed to  the  whole  family. 

If  her  husband  during  those  years  was  able  to  finish  his 
course  with  reasonable  success,  and  if  the  little  church  at 
Litchfield  grew  under  his  ministry,  as  it  did,  hers  was  a  full 
half  of  all  the  credit. 


20  Js-  E  S  T  H  E  R   T.   B  A  R  T  O  N 

V  —  Wellington 

It  was  a  wrench  to  leave  Litchfield,  but  larger  fields  were 
calling.  After  a  long  struggle  it  seemed  best  not  to  go 
back  into  the  mountains.  There  was  a  call  to  a  church  in 
Cleveland,  but  Wellington  was  chosen  instead,  and  the  choice 
was  never  regretted.  There,  for  three  happy  years,  in  the  big 
parsonage  beside  the  beautiful  brick  church,  they  lived  and 
wrought  together.  There  the  fourth  child,  Frederick  Bushnell 
Barton,  was  born,  April  30, 1892.  There  the  minister's  father 
made  his  first  visit  to  his  son  since  his  marriage,  and  ap- 
praised his  daughter-in-law.  As  he  was  leaving,  he  said  to  his 
son: 

"I  have  always  expected  you  to  succeed,  but  have  rather 
wondered  that  you  were  succeeding  so  well.  Now  that  I  have 
seen  that  little  wife  of  yours,  I  shall  not  be  surprised  at  any 
success  that  can  ever  come  to  you." 

Life  in  Wellington  was  very  happy.  It  was  near  enough  to 
Oberlin  so  that  the  recent  graduate  was  called  back  in  two 
emergencies  to  teach  classes.  The  salary,  fourteen  hundred 
dollars  and  parsonage,  seemed  large.  Neither  the  young 
minister  nor  his  wife  wanted  to  leave,  and  a  number  of  op- 
portunities were  flatly  declined.  But  out  of  a  clear  sky  came  a 
call  to  Shawmut  Church,  Boston,  and  this  seemed  something 
that  could  not  be  ignored. 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <  21 

VI  —  Boston 

On  March  1, 1893,  the  new  pastorate  began,  and  she  who 
had  been  a  little  country  school  teacher  in  Ohio,  and 
wife  of  a  home  missionary  in  Tennessee,  and  then  for  three 
years  the  wife  of  an  overworked  theological  student,  and 
then  the  very  busy  mother  of  four  small  children  in  an  Ohio 
parsonage,  suddenly  became  the  wife  of  the  minister  of  an 
old  Boston  church,  with  very  definite  traditions  as  to  what  a 
minister's  wife  ought  to  be  and  do.  How  well  she  fitted  into 
that  situation,  how  wise  and  tactful  and  discreet  she  was, 
how  she  endeared  herself  to  rich  and  poor  alike,  and  how 
large  a  place  she  made  for  herself  in  the  hearts  of  all,  let 
others  testify,  as  testify  they  do. 

During  their  life  in  Boston  their  fifth  child,  Robert 
Shawmut  Barton,  was  born,  August  4,  1894.  The  five  chil- 
dren were  all  grouped  within  eight  years,  lacking  one  day. 
The  Little  Mother  had  her  hands  full  with  them,  and  with 
others  who  from  time  to  time  were  residents  of  the  home.  It 
was  the  rich  privilege  of  this  couple  to  assume  parental  rela- 
tions and  provide  education  for  a  good  many  children,  first 
and  last,  besides  their  own;  and  while  these  experiences  were 
not  without  their  trials,  and  a  cost  in  money  and  patience, 
her  wisdom  and  tact  and  character  were  equal  to  the  strain 
and  there  are  no  unpaid  bills. 


22  \>  E  S  T  H  E  R   T.    B  A  R  T  O  N 

A  summer  home  now  seemed  a  necessity,  and  a  very  for- 
tunate street  car  blockage  in  the  streets  of  Boston  caused 
them  to  miss  a  train  that  they  were  intending  to  take,  and  led 
them  to  go  instead  to  Foxboro.  There  they  found  the  spot 
they  wanted,  on  Sunset  Lake,  and  the  two  discovered  it  in- 
stantly and  simultaneously.  It  has  been  their  summer  home 
ever  since.  There  in  successive  vacations  the  children  were 
collected  from  the  graded  schools,  and  re-graded  as  mem- 
bers of  one  class.  There  they  came  home  from  college,  and 
did  physical  labor  and  wrought  with  their  parents  at  com- 
mon tasks.  And  there  the  Little  Mother  was  enthroned, 
queen  of  all.  She  walked  among  the  tall  pines,  so  tiny  but  so 
bright  a  spot,  and  she  procured  dry  clothing  when  the  chil- 
dren fell  into  the  lake,  and  tied  up  stubbed  toes,  and  pro- 
vided three  meals  a  day  for  prodigious  outdoor  appetites. 

She  never  lacked  courage  for  an  emergency.  The  minor 
surgery  of  the  family,  such  as  the  removal  of  slivers  and  the 
treatment  of  wasp  stings,  fell  usually  to  her  husband.  But 
when  Charlie,  on  a  day  when  his  father  was  absent,  ran  a 
fishhook  in  his  thumb,  and  his  own  initial  attempts  at  re- 
moval drove  the  barb  the  deeper,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  do 
for  him  what  her  father  had  done  for  her,  and  resolutely  cut 
the  fishhook  out. 

The  original  purchase  of  the  family  at  Foxboro  was  the 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        <  23 

white  cottage  whose  yard  contains  the  flowing  brook  con- 
necting Sunset  and  Cocasset  lakes,  and  whose  rear  line  is  the 
shore  of  the  latter  lake,  together  with  a  vacant  lot  across  the 
road  bordering  on  Sunset  Lake.  In  the  earlier  years,  the 
white  cottage  sufficed  the  family  for  a  home,  and  a  portion  of 
the  opposite  lot  was  sold  to  Dr.  Frank  E.  Bundy,  the  family 
physician  and  a  deacon  in  Shawmut  Church.  For  eleven 
happy  summers  the  Bundys  occupied  their  new  cottage, 
known  as  Pine  Knoll.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Bundy  the  Bar- 
tons bought  this  lot  back  and  the  cottage  with  it.  Mrs. 
Bundy  died  a  year  later.  Not  for  many  seasons  did  the  Bar- 
ton family  have  an  extra  cottage  on  hand.  Bruce  married, 
bringing  into  the  family  another  Esther,  and  they  spent 
their  honeymoon  there,  and  bought  the  white  cottage,  which 
later  they  remodeled,  and  Pine  Knoll  became  the  home  of 
their  father  and  mother.  Later  Charles  and  Fred  bought  a 
house  and  ground  adjoining  that  of  Bruce,  and  Robert  and 
Agnes  bought  the  old  Colonial  parsonage  where  Governor's 
Brook  flows  through  their  yard  into  Cocasset  Lake.  This  and 
the  happy  purchase  of  the  water  right  of  Cocasset  by  inti- 
mate friends,  Waldo  and  Ethel  Grose,  afforded  large  frontage 
on  Cocasset.  Meantime,  Dr.  Barton  acquired  the  water 
right  of  Sunset  Lake,  and  by  successive  purchases  secured  all 
the  land  adjoining  it.  The  Foxboro  domain,  therefore,  be- 


24  >  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

came  a  large  one.  A  few  congenial  neighbors  had  frontage 
still  on  Cocasset,  and  Rock  Hill  Cemetery  sloped  down  from 
the  opposite  shore;  but  Sunset  Lake,  containing  not  quite 
twenty  acres,  with  forty  acres  of  surrounding  woodland,  in 
addition  to  about  as  many  more  acres  owned  by  the  younger 
generation  and  fronting  on  the  larger  lake,  afforded  all  ade- 
quate privacy,  while  the  town  water,  electric  light,  daily  mail 
and  delivery  service  brought  all  the  comforts  of  the  village  to 
the  door. 

VII  —  Oak  Park 
4  fter  six  happy  and  rewarding  years  in  Boston  came  the 
AjL  call  to  the  First  Church  of  Oak  Park,  Illinois.  There 
the  family  removed,  March  1,  1899,  and  there  they  re- 
mained for  a  full  quarter  century,  the  resignation  taking  ef- 
fect August  31,  1924. 

Of  her  life  and  influence  in  Oak  Park  little  need  here  be 
said.  It  is  recent,  and  others  must  be  permitted  to  approach 
it  from  different  angles.  They  were  not  easy  years.  The  prob- 
lems at  the  outset  were  not  light ;  and  when  the  church  began 
to  grow,  as  it  did  in  time,  and  to  change  its  character  and 
psychology  as  the  type  of  community  life  changed  and  the 
organization  doubled  in  size  and  still  grew,  the  changing 
problems  still  were  large.  They  called  for  no  little  wisdom  on 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        •<  25 

the  part  of  the  minister's  wife.  How  discreet  she  was;  how 
wise  she  was  in  counsel;  how  generously  she  gave  of  her 
thought  and  prayer,  no  one  can  ever  tell  as  it  ought  to  be 
told.  But  something  of  it  was  visible  to  all.  "Give  her  of  the 
fruit  of  her  hands;  and  let  her  own  works  praise  her  in  the 
gates." 

But  after  all  has  been  said  that  can  be  said  of  her,  as  the 
wife  of  a  minister,  as  a  member  of  various  boards  and  com- 
mittees, the  things  she  would  most  care  to  have  said  are 
those  that  are  most  undubitably  true:  "Her  children  rise  up, 
and  call  her  blessed;  her  husband  also,  and  he  praiseth  her, 
saying:  Many  daughters  have  done  worthily,  but  thou  ex- 
celleth  them  all." 

At  the  time  of  their  leaving  Boston  for  Oak  Park,  neither 
she  nor  her  husband  had  a  single  gray  hair.  Her  hair  was 
brown,  very  soft  and  delicate,  and  had  a  natural  curl.  Her 
eyes  were  dark  brown ;  her  complexion  was  clear  and  she  had 
a  rich  and  beautiful  color.  Her  step  was  light  and  her  voice 
was  soft  and  gentle,  but  was  not  lacking  in  firmness.  As 
she  grew  older,  her  hair  turned  white,  and  there  were  lines 
in  her  face,  but  this  did  not  mar  nor  hide  the  beauty  of 
her  features  or  her  character. 

It  came  about  without  any  planning,  and  rather  against 
the  judgment  and  will  of  all  concerned,  that  she  lost  her 


26  >■  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

name.  Her  husband,  who  stood  ten  inches  above  her  in  sta- 
ture, fell  into  the  habit  of  addressing  her  as  "Little  Lady." 
The  children  first  called  her  "Mamma"  and  later  "Mother" 
and  as  they  grew  till  every  one  of  them  was  taller  than  she, 
both  they  and  her  husband  often  addressed  her  as  "Little 
Mother."  The  pet  name,  "Keturah,"  grew  out  of  the  require- 
ments of  literature,  and  came  in  for  more  or  less  actual  use  at 
home,  and  thus  it  eventuated  that  her  own  beautiful  name, 
Esther,  was  rarely  used.  Now  and  then  her  husband  said  to 
her,  "I  love  your  name,  and  I  intend  to  begin  using  it 
again,"  but  her  own  name  Esther  was  lost  in  the  habitual 
use  of  "Little  Lady,"  "Little  Mother,"  or  "Keturah."  The 
last  of  these  names,  used  since  1914  in  her  husband's  "Par- 
ables of  Safed  the  Sage,"  with  playful  or  serious  bits  of  home 
dialogue,  became  familiar  to  an  increasing  body  of  friends. 
Thus  her  royal  name  "Esther,"  which  is  by  interpretation  a 
Star,  came  to  be  reserved  for  official  use. 

VIII  —  The  Travels  of  Keturah 

In  the  early  years  of  their  married  life,  the  Little  Mother 
remained  at  home.  She  cared  for  her  children,  and  her 
husband  made  many  journeys,  some  of  them  long,  without 
her.  But  after  their  children  were  grown,  there  was  oppor- 
tunity for  them  to  travel  together,  and  they  improved  it  to 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        •<  27 

the  very  limit  of  happy  possibility.  They  were  privileged  to 
journey  three  times  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  by  different 
routes,  seeing  much  of  the  country  from  the  Canadian 
Rockies  to  the  borders  of  Mexico.  There  came  a  time  when 
her  husband  was  elected  Moderator  of  the  National  Council 
of  Congregational  Churches.  She  had  already  attended  sev- 
eral National  Councils  with  him,  beginning  with  Kansas 
City,  in  1913,  when  he  had  a  share  in  the  making  of  the  new 
Constitution  of  the  Council;  and  after  that  they  habitually 
went  together.  She  was  thus  with  him  when  he  was  elected 
Moderator  at  Los  Angeles  in  June,  1921,  and  shared  in  such 
recognition  as  that  position  brought.  She  accompanied  him 
on  many  thousands  of  miles  of  travel  in  that  office.  Her  pet 
name  was  known  to  all  Congregationalists  and  many  others, 
for  the  Parables  are  printed  in  syndicate,  and  she  was  every- 
where welcomed  and  beloved. 

There  was  something  very  winsome  about  the  modesty 
of  this  Little  Lady.  She  shrank  from  publicity,  yet,  when  rec- 
ognition came  to  her,  as  it  bad  to  come,  unsought,  she 
glowed  with  a  sweet  little  pride  that  made  her  radiant.  One 
time  an  unusually  notable  event  was  planned  without  her 
knowledge,  and  she  suddenly  found  herself  in  the  midst  of  an 
appreciative  group  who  said  things  that  might  have  embar- 
rassed a  woman  with  less  than  half  her  modesty.  But  she  ac- 


28  }fl-  ESTHER   T.   BARTON 

cepted  it  with  quiet  dignity,  and  when  she  returned  to  the 
hotel,  and  looked  at  herself  in  the  glass,  and  could  not  help 
seeing  that  she  looked  well,  or  fail  to  know  that  she  had  stood 
the  test  with  remarkable  composure,  she  said,  "Oh,  I  never 
had  such  a  happy  time;  and  to  think  that  they  should  say 
such  things  about  me!" 


IX  —  Berea  College  Water  Works 

This  Little  Lady  had  a  way  of  accomplishing  most  of  the 
things  she  set  out  to  do.  Her  executive  ability  was  equal 
to  her  tact.  Her  husband  came  to  be  a  confidential  friend  of 
that  millionaire  who  literally  died  poor,  Dr.  D.  K.  Pearsons. 
To  him  Dr.  Pearsons  made  a  verbal  pledge  to  present  to 
Berea  College  a  system  of  water  works.  But  the  doctor  took 
offense  at  an  action  of  the  college  and  withdrew  the  pledge 
before  its  public  announcement.  On  a  Monday  morning  in 
June  the  Little  Lady's  husband  said  to  her: 

"I  go  tonight  to  Commencement  at  Berea,  and  I  must 
take  with  me  the  written  pledge  for  the  water- works.  You 
must  go  with  me  this  morning  to  call  on  Dr.  Pearsons." 

Three  college  presidents  were  sitting  with  Dr.  Pearsons 
in  his  inner  office  and  the  door  between  stood  open.  He  turned 
the  presidents  all  out,  and  invited  the  two  visitors  to  enter 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        cj  29 

and  he  closed  the  door.  Pushing  his  tall  hat  to  the  back  of  his 
head,  he  looked  hard  at  her  and  demanded : 

"What  did  you  come  here  for?" 

"I  came  to  see  you,*'  she  replied. 

"You  came  because  you  thought  if  you  came  I  would  give 
the  pledge  for  those  water  works." 

She  answered  simply,  "My  husband  thought  you  would 
not  refuse  me." 

He  turned  in  his  swivel-chair,  wrote  out  in  about  three 
lines  his  pledge  for  $50,000,  and  handed  it  to  her.  When  the 
water-works  were  formally  opened  the  next  year,  he  selected 
her  to  represent  him  at  the  turning  on  of  the  water. 

Some  months  later  he  sat  at  dinner  in  the  parsonage  in 
Oak  Park  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  Little  Lady's  cooking. 

"How  much  did  you  expect  me  to  pay  for  this  meal?"  he 
asked,  when  he  had  finished. 

"You  might  erect  a  building  at  Berea,  and  call  it  Pear- 
sons Hall." 

Without  rising  from  the  table,  he  wrote  the  pledge. 

X  —  In  War  and  Peace 

She  was  as  courageous  as  she  was  gentle.  Before  the  entry 
of  the  United  States  into  the  World  War,  her  son  Fred 
served  for  several  months  on  the  Mexican  border,  and  she 


30  J>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

had  no  illusions  as  to  military  life.  With  the  tenderest  of 
maternal  hearts,  she  had  in  her  also  the  fortitude  of  the 
Spartan  mother.  Three  of  her  sons,  Robert,  Fred  and 
Charles,  in  the  reverse  order  of  their  ages,  without  awaiting 
their  selection  by  draft,  went  into  the  service,  and  all  won 
commissions.  Helen's  husband,  Clyde  S.  St il well,  was  sent 
to  Russia  on  diplomatic  service.  Bruce,  declining  a  commis- 
sion, resigned  his  position  as  editor,  and  devoted  himself  to 
war  work.  The  Little  Lady's  husband  was  engaged  in  various 
visits  to  camps  and  other  war  activities,  besides  keeping  up 
his  church  work  and  editorial  duties.  Not  once  did  her  cour- 
age flag.  There  was  in  her  nothing  of  the  Amazon;  her  life 
was  all  gentleness;  but  when  there  was  need  for  courage,  in 
peace  or  war,  she  was  equal  to  every  demand. 

Her  five  children  had  all  been  graduated  from  college. 
The  older  ones  were  married  before  the  war,  and  the  younger 
pair  of  sons  married  as  soon  as  the  war  was  well  over.  She 
never  spoke  of  her  children-in-law  by  that  term.  They  were 
her  own  children.  The  grandchildren,  too,  were  her  very 
own.  Whatever  else  she  was,  she  was  preeminently  a  mother. 
In  her,  ten  generations  of  Puritan  ancestry,  tempered  by  a 
self -forgetful  love  and  a  rich  and  varied  experience,  wrought 
out  a  personality,  strong,  sincere,  resolute,  capable,  and 
adorned  with  every  grace  of  courtesy,  charity  and  sympathy. 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        -t}31 

In  the  spring  of  1915  she  was  not  well,  and  went  in  the 
early  summer  for  a  fortnight's  rest  at  Battle  Creek.  A  thor- 
ough medical  examination  with  which  her  residence  there 
began  revealed  an  unsuspected  peril.  She  had  blood-pressure 
of  an  alarming  character.  She  was  told  that  she  could  not 
live  long,  and  might  die  at  any  time.  On  her  return  to  Oak 
Park,  her  family  physician,  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Roberts,  con- 
firmed the  diagnosis,  but  in  less  alarming  terms. 

She  accepted  this  situation,  and  determined  to  live  out 
her  life  to  the  full.  By  care  and  self-control  she  was  able  to 
reduce  somewhat  the  extreme  high  blood-pressure,  and  she 
determined  not  to  live  in  fear  or  bondage.  Ten  happy  and 
useful  years  were  hers  after  this  sentence  of  death  was  passed 
upon  her,  and  she  lived  a  fruitful  and  abundant  life. 

XI  —  Around  the  World 

In  1908  she  and  her  husband  greatly  enjoyed  together  a 
tour  of  Europe,  and  they  hoped  long  for  the  time  when 
they  could  make  a  tour  of  the  world.  This  opportunity  did 
not  come  while  they  were  in  the  pastorate,  but  was  defi- 
nitely agreed  upon  as  something  to  be  done  as  soon  as  the 
pastorate  ended.  Accordingly,  they  engaged  passage  for  a 
tour  around  the  world,  sailing  from  New  York  on  the 
steamship  "California,"  January  19,  1925.   The  Oak  Park 


32  >  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

Church,  in  gratitude  and  affection,  provided  $5,000  for  this 
voyage. 

Twice  in  recent  years  she  had  experienced  alarming 
symptoms,  resulting  in  partial  paralysis,  which,  however, 
soon  passed.  As  the  time  of  sailing  approached,  medical  ad- 
vice was  guardedly  given  against  her  taking  the  voyage,  and 
she  gave  it  up.  On  the  day  before  her  husband  was  to  have 
started  for  the  ship,  she  quietly  informed  him  that  she  was 
going,  and  he  from  that  moment  ceased  to  question  her  de- 
cision. They  went  together,  and  daily  they  thanked  God 
that  they  were  together. 

The  *  'California's' '  tour  conveyed  its  passengers  west- 
ward by  way  of  Havana,  Panama,  Los  Angeles,  Hawaii, 
Japan,  China,  Manila,  Java,  Singapore,  Rangoon,  Calcutta, 
Colombo,  Bombay,  Cairo,  Jerusalem,  Athens,  Naples, 
Monte  Carlo  and  Cherbourg.  It  thus  covered  an  itinerary, 
including  shore  travel,  of  nearly  forty  thousand  miles,  and 
carried  the  Little  Lady  and  her  husband  by  zig-zag  routes 
through  many  latitudes.  They  crossed  the  Equator,  and  ex- 
changed the  Great  Dipper  for  the  Southern  Cross,  and  later 
welcomed  the  vision  when — 

"The  old  lost  stars  wheeled  back  again, 
That  blaze  in  the  velvet  blue." 

They  bore  letters  of  introduction  to  eminent  people  and 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        •<  33 

were  well  received.  Rapid  as  was  the  tour,  it  was  rewarding, 
and  full  of  satisfactions.  At  every  port  were  letters  that  re- 
minded them  of  the  love  that  followed  them.  And  every- 
where they  met  friends. 

As  the  "California"  rounded  Diamond  Head,  and  en- 
tered the  harbor  of  Honolulu,  it  was  met  by  a  boat  bearing 
the  harbor  officials,  and  two  delegations.  One  of  these  came 
out  to  greet  Major-General  and  Mrs.  Charles  G.  Morton. 
He  had  formerly  commanded  the  military  forces  in  the 
islands,  and  was  welcomed  heartily  as  he  returned  for  a 
brief  visit  on  his  way  around  the  world.  Honolulu  people 
have  a  beautiful  custom  of  wreathing  arriving  and  depart- 
ing friends  with  "leis,"  garlands  of  flowers.  General  and 
Mrs.  Morton  were  thus  greeted.  Mrs.  Morton  was  richly 
and  appropriately  garlanded.  The  other  delegation  brought 
similar  decorations  to  another  couple.  Mrs.  Barton  was  one 
of  the  first  two  ladies  thus  to  be  decorated,  and  not  even  the 
General's  wife  walked  down  the  gang-plank  with  more 
floral  decorations.  But  when  she  came  away,  her  hostess, 
Mrs.  Governor  Freer,  and  friends  representing  the  schools, 
the  churches,  and  ties  of  simple  friendship  long  cherished  or 
newly  won,  laid  wreath  on  wreath  of  floral  leis  upon  her. 
Last  of  all,  the  venerable  and  gracious  Governor  Dole,  Ex- 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Hawaii,  that  territory's  George 


34 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH       -cj  35 

Washington,  placed  about  her  neck  a  garland  of  the  flowers 
which,  during  her  reign,  were  cultivated  and  worn  by  Queen 
Liliuokalani,  and  restricted  to  the  use  of  royalty.  Nearly 
every  passenger  returned  to  the  ship  with  some  token  of  re- 
gard from  Honolulu  friends,  but  no  other  person,  man  or 
woman,  came  back  wearing  so  many  or  from  such  varied  or 
distinguished  people. 

Wherever  on  that  voyage  Americans  resident  in  foreign 
lands  greeted  the  arrival  of  the  '  'Calif ornia"  with  its  six 
hundred  globe-trotting  tourists,  and  that  was  practically 
everywhere,  there  were  those  who  waited  to  waft  a  welcome 
to  "Keturah"  before  the  ship  came  to  dock,  and  to  hold  one 
end  of  a  paper  ribbon  of  some  bright  color  of  which  she  held 
the  other  end  till  the  departing  ship  snapped  it  but  left  the 
tie  of  love  unbroken. 

She  was  sick  with  fever  after  their  visit  to  India,  but  her 
heart  stood  the  strain  well,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think 
that  her  voyage  in  any  way  hastened  her  death.  On  the 
other  hand  it  gave  to  both  her  husband  and  herself  a  most 
happy  experience  and  treasured  memories. 

While  this  sickness  brought  its  anxieties  and  discomforts, 
it  had  some  rich  compensations.  She  and  her  husband  were 
together  night  and  day  during  the  last  three  weeks  of  the 
voyage,  and  she  more  than  once  declared  her  belief  that  she 


36  js-  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

owed  her  recovery  to  this  constant  care.  Never  had  they 
seemed  dearer  to  each  other  than  they  were  during  those 
days.  They  were  to  have  left  the  ship  at  Cherbourg,  but  con- 
tinued on  it  to  Glasgow,  where  she  was  barely  able  to  get 
ashore.  About  three  weeks  they  spent  in  Great  Britain.  A 
week  was  passed  in  Norwich,  where  they  took  rides  every 
afternoon  among  the  blossoming  hedgerows,  for  it  was  May 
in  East  Anglia,  the  sunniest  part  of  England.  A  quiet  week 
was  spent  in  London,  with  a  daily  drive  in  the  parks.  Daily 
she  gained  in  strength;  but  she  was  still  frail  and  pale  when, 
on  June  14,  she  landed  in  Boston  from  the  Cunarder 
"Scythia"  and  was  greeted  by  a  throng  of  her  children  and 
grandchildren. 

XII  —  Summer  and  Autumn 

In  Foxboro  her  strength  came  back.  There  were  some 
backsets,  but  she  gained  a  practically  complete  recov- 
ery. Four  of  her  five  children,  with  their  families,  assembled 
in  Foxboro,  eight  of  the  nine  grandchildren  being  there.  She 
oversaw  the  unpacking  of  her  foreign  purchases,  most 
thoughtfully  and  unselfishly  made,  and  assembled  her 
daughters  and  distributed  to  them,  and  with  their  concurrent 
judgment  passed  on  to  others,  the  pleasant  things  she  had 
bought.  Seldom  had  she  been  happier  than  when,  with  the 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <  37 

guest-room  bed  and  couch  and  chairs  laden  with  garments 
and  other  gifts,  she  discussed  with  "the  girls"  their  own 
choices  and  their  suggestions  for  distribution  to  others. 

By  the  time  of  her  wedding  anniversary  she  was  almost 
in  her  usual  health.  In  some  former  years,  the  children  had 
planned  uproarious  festivities  with  homemade  comic  opera, 
in  which  one  of  the  sons  wore  his  father's  clothing  and  the 
daughter  attired  herself  in  one  of  her  mother's  dresses,  and 
the  historical  drama  of  the  Barton  family  was  rehearsed  and 
sung  from  the  time  when  an  impecunious  bridegroom  was 
alleged  to  have  borrowed  the  money  for  the  wedding  fee, 
down  through  all  the  experiences  that  had  attended  the  fam- 
ily's increase  and  multiplication.  That  none  of  these  celebra- 
tions brought  down  the  Foxboro  police  may  have  been  due 
to  the  wide  strip  of  woodland  about  Sunset  Lake  which  en- 
abled the  children  to  laugh  and  shout  to  their  hearts'  con- 
tent. The  celebration  of  the  fortieth  anniversary  was  quiet 
by  contrast,  but  very  happy.  It  happened  that  some  Oak 
Park  friends  arrived  to  share  in  the  simple  festivities,  and 
this  added  to  the  joy. 

Another  notable  event  occurred  in  that  summer  of  1925. 
For  a  quarter  century  the  Little  Lady's  husband  had  done 
his  summer  writing  in  a  building  of  his  own,  called  the  Wig- 
wam, situated  back  in  the  woods  on  the  lake  shore  at  a  dis- 


38 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        <  39 

tance  from  Pine  Knoll  cottage,  their  home.  It  was  decided  to 
add  to  the  Wigwam  a  large  room  to  house  his  collection  of 
Lincolniana.  She  was  as  much  interested  in  this  as  he  was, 
and  daily  watched  the  progress  of  the  building  to  its  com- 
pletion. On  August  29  she  presided  over  the  social  part  of  the 
opening  celebration.  Noted  people  were  there,  and  Lincoln 
students  from  all  over  America  and  abroad  sent  felicitations. 
She  never  looked  lovelier  than  on  that  afternoon  when,  un- 
der the  pines  beside  the  lake,  assisted  by  her  daughters,  she 
dispensed  a  gracious  hospitality. 

The  National  Council  of  Congregational  Churches  met  in 
October  in  Washington.  Her  husband  was  no  longer  Mod- 
erator, nor  even  Retiring  Moderator  with  a  valedictory  ad- 
dress to  deliver.  He  had  some  official  duties,  but  they  were 
light  in  comparison  with  those  of  previous  councils.  They 
went  and  sat  together.  At  the  Powhattan  Hotel  she  was 
hostess  to  Oak  Park  friends,  to  returned  missionaries  whom 
she  knew,  and  to  others.  On  Sunday  her  husband  preached 
in  the  New  York  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  an  arrange- 
ment made  by  the  Pulpit  Committee  in  view  of  his  interest 
in  Lincoln,  and  she  sat  in  the  Lincoln  pew.  On  the  same  day 
they  were  guests  of  a  large  Bible  Class  in  Immanuel  Baptist 
Church,  where  she  was  already  known  as  "Keturah"  and  was 
welcomed  with  a  set  speech  and  a  bouquet. 


40 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        <41 

Among  other  happy  incidents  of  this  visit  to  Washington 
was  a  luncheon  at  the  White  House.  They  had  been  guests  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coolidge  when  he  was  Vice-President,  and  now 
they  were  guests,  and  the  only  guests,  at  this  luncheon.  No 
lack  of  composure  was  hers  when  the  President  offered  her 
his  arm  and  escorted  her  to  the  table;  no  feeling  of  embar- 
rassment was  hers  when,  after  luncheon,  the  first  lady  in  the 
land  led  her  away  to  another  room  for  a  quiet  little  visit  all 
alone;  nor  yet  on  a  day  following,  at  a  White  House  recep- 
tion, when  Mrs.  Coolidge  recognized  her  a  little  way  down 
the  line,  and  called  her  name,  and  requested  her  to  present 
personally  her  own  little  group  of  friends.  Such  honors  she 
bore  with  a  quiet  grace  that  was  the  more  beautiful  because 
it  was  void  of  all  art  or  pretense. 

Following  the  National  Council,  and  a  few  intervening 
days  at  Foxboro,  she  and  her  husband  went  to  Boston  to 
celebrate  her  sister's  birthday.  This  was  in  every  way  an  en- 
joyable event,  and  was  accomplished  without  fatigue. 

From  Boston,  on  Saturday,  October  31,  they  went  to 
New  York,  where  her  husband  preached  on  Sunday  in 
Broadway  Tabernacle.  At  the  close  of  that  service  a  group  of 
old  friends  surrounded  her,  and  made  the  occasion  even  more 
pleasant  than  it  already  would  have  been.  Her  son  Bruce  and 
his  family  had  bought  and  remodeled  a  house  which  was 


42  >  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

nearly  ready  for  occupancy  at  the  time  of  her  sailing  around 
the  world,  but  which  she  had  not  seen  since  its  completion. 
In  that  cheerful  home,  with  Bruce  and  Esther  and  their  three 
childrenvshe  spent  very  pleasantly  her  last  earthly  Sabbath. 
On  Monday  she  lunched  with  dear  friends,  and  on  Monday 
night  she  and  her  husband  and  Bruce's  wife,  Esther,  at- 
tended a  theater.  This  was  a  somewhat  unusual  diversion. 
Not  more  than  two  or  three  times  in  a  year,  on  an  average, 
had  she  and  her  husband  given  themselves  this  pleasure, 
and  except  for  some  exhibitions  in  foreign  lands  this  was 
their  first  performance  for  a  year.  It  was  a  dazzling  spec- 
tacle, with  gorgeous  costumes  and  stage  settings,  with  plenty 
of  life  and  movement  and  innocent  fun.  She  had  never  seen 
so  rich  and  gay  a  play,  and  its  mirth  and  freedom  from 
coarseness  pleased  her. 

The  weeks  after  her  recovery  were  a  swift  succession  of 
happy  experiences. The  pain  and  discomfort  of  her  illness  re- 
ceded into  the  shadows;  the  reassuring  reports  of  physicians 
were  such  as  to  disarm  anxiety.  Each  day  the  memory  of 
the  tour  around  the  world  grew  more  and  more  to  seem  a 
triumphal  procession  with  only  interesting  scenes  to  re- 
member. She  had  kept  a  photographic  record  of  the  journey 
to  the  time  of  her  illness;  she  pasted  up  the  remaining  photo- 
graphs, and  reviewed  the  swift  panorama  of  the  cruise.  Al- 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <  43 

most  every  day  brought  visitors  to  Pine  Knoll  on  Sunset 
Lake.  Strangers  came  to  see  the  Lincoln  Room,  and  she  wel- 
comed them  to  the  cottage,  and  walked  with  them  through 
the  pines  to  the  Wigwam  and  presented  them  to  her  hus- 
band who  was  at  work  there.  Without  exception  these  callers 
were  pleasant  people,  and  they  were  not  all  strangers. 

Autumn  brought  few  bleak  and  stormy  days.  For  the 
most  part,  the  days  were  sunny.  Mornings  and  evenings 
were  chill,  but  a  genial  Indian  Summer  warmth  made  work 
pleasant.  Early  in  the  season  they  had  had  a  visit  from  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jens  Jensen.  This  famous  landscape  architect,  on 
his  way  back  from  Maine,  where  he  had  been  laying  out  a 
large  plan  for  Henry  Ford,  went  over  the  Sunset  Lake  prop- 
erty with  undisguised  admiration,  and  counseled  his  friends, 
the  owners,  not  to  do  too  much  to  spoil  its  natural  beauty. 
But  he  agreed  that  there  ought  to  be  a  garden  of  old-fash- 
ioned perennials,  and  he  helped  in  the  planning  of  it.  During 
the  summer  this  garden  was  prepared,  and  in  the  autumn  it 
was  planted  with  choice  varieties  of  the  old-time  flowers.  The 
garden  sloped,  terrace-like,  across  a  ravine  and  faced  the 
house.  Above  the  garden,  the  hill  was  a  blaze  of  autumnal 
foliage,  which  deepened  day  by  day.  Shewatched  it  with  glow- 
ing interest.  Life  was  never  more  beautiful  to  her,  nor  was 
her  enjoyment  in  common  things  ever  more  keen  or  constant. 


44>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

During  her  serious  illness  with  Bombay  fever  on  ship- 
board, she  more  than  once  considered  the  possibility  that 
she  might  not  live  to  complete  the  voyage.  She  dearly  hoped 
that  she  was  not  to  die  far  from  home;  but  even  in  that 
event,  she  said  she  would  be  glad  that  she  had  come.  Her 
courage  and  faith  did  not  fail  even  as  she  confronted  that  sad 
possibility.  During  the  summer  she  was  saddened  by  the 
death  of  friends  whom  she  held  very  dear. 

Hon.  Edgar  A.  Bancroft,  United  States  Ambassador  to 
Japan,  had  entertained  her  and  her  husband  at  the  Em- 
bassy and  in  his  apartment  at  Tokyo,  and  placed  his  car  at 
their  disposal.  He  was  a  cherished  friend,  and  treated  them 
with  royal  friendship.  Mr.  Bancroft  died  suddenly  during 
the  summer,  having  in  a  short  service  in  Japan  allayed  much 
of  the  unpleasant  feeling  of  the  Japanese  people  toward 
America.  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan  and  Mrs.  Bryan  had 
been  guests  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Barton  in  Chicago  and  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Barton  had  been  their  guests  in  Miami.  While  not 
sharing  Mr.  Bryan's  views,  the  Bartons  held  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bryan  in  warm  regard.  Mr.  Victor  F.  Lawson,  owner  of  the 
Chicago  Daily  News,  had  long  been  a  friend.  When  Dr. 
Barton  owned  The  Advance,  Mr.  Lawson  was  its  most  liberal 
supporter.  He  died  suddenly  in  August,  leaving  millions  of 
dollars  to  well-chosen  benevolences.  One  of  his  last  letters, 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        -rj45 

perhaps  his  very  last,  written  in  his  own  hand  on  the  day 
of  his  death,  expressed  his  sorrow  that  he  could  not  be  pres- 
ent at  the  opening  of  the  Lincoln  Room. 

One  day  in  September,  she  spoke  to  her  husband  at 
length  about  these  three  distinguished  men.  They  had  lived 
earnestly  and  died  victoriously,  in  the  full  tide  of  their  ac- 
tivities and  interests.  By  contrast  she  spoke  of  two  friends 
very  dear  to  her.  One  was  a  woman  who  had  always  seemed 
the  picture  of  health,  who  went  to  the  hospital  for  what  was 
expected  to  be  an  unimportant  operation,  but  was  found  to 
be  suffering  from  a  malignant  and  incurable  disease,  and 
died  in  lingering  pain.  The  Little  Lady  had  visited  her  in  the 
hospital  the  very  last  day  before  leaving  Oak  Park,  and 
thereafter  watched  with  sorrow  the  mails  that  ultimately 
told  of  her  death.  The  other  was  a  woman  of  brilliant  mind 
and  beautiful  character,  who  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and 
lived,  still  lives,  devoid  of  pain,  but  helpless.  The  Little  Lady 
had  spoken  of  her  own  possible  death  when  she  was  most  ill, 
and  again  when,  though  convalescent,  she  had  alarming 
though  diminished  heart-symptoms.  Her  earnest  hope  and 
prayer  was  that  she  might  never  linger  in  pain  or  be  a 
burden  to  her  loved  ones. 

It  fell  to  the  family  in  this  autumn  to  select  a  lot  in  the 
Foxboro  Cemetery.  An  exceptionally  large  area  was  avail- 


46>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

able  in  a  location  that  they  cared  for,  a  lot  on  the  slope  to- 
ward the  lake  and  their  home.  It  was  late  in  the  season  be- 
fore they  inspected  it,  but  one  beautiful  October  day  she 
visited  it,  and  liked  it,  and  the  purchase  was  made.  She  ex- 
pressed no  morbid  or  personal  concern  about  it,  but  was 
glad  that  so  beautiful  a  plot  was  available,  one  near  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  with  a  little  lakelet  of  its  own, 
about  a  quarter  acre  in  area,  in  the  immediate  fore- 
ground. 

Day  by  day,  with  her  increasing  vigor,  the  shadow  of  the 
illness  that  she  brought  back  with  her  disappeared.  Clinical 
tests  indicated  that  she  had  completely  eradicated  every 
trace  of  the  fever  and  its  resultant  heart-strain.  She  moved 
with  a  light,  quick  step.  She  was  alert  and  interested  in  all 
fine  and  normal  things.  Week  by  week  she  talked  of  Oak 
Park,  and  without  regret  that  she  and  her  husband  were  not 
returning.  That  chapter  in  their  lives  had  reached  its  hon- 
orable close.  She  said  of  Oak  Park  and  the  First  Church  that 
she  loved  them  as  much  as  ever,  but  surprised  herself  in 
finding  how  easy  it  was  to  be  glad  that  the  burden  now 
rested  on  other  shoulders,  and  to  rejoice  in  every  letter  that 
told  of  the  success  of  the  new  pastor  and  his  wife.  No  tinge 
of  jealousy  or  regret  was  ever  in  her  mind  or  speech.  She 
loved  her  own,  and  loved  them  to  the  end.  Several  Oak  Park 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        ~cj{47 

friends  visited  Foxboro  during  the  summer,  and  were  wel- 
comed with  joy. 

In  September  she  and  her  husband  spent  a  Sunday  in 
Shawmut  Church,  and  she  occupied  her  old  pew,  side  by  side 
with  Mrs.  Pierce,  wife  of  the  present  honored  pastor,  and 
the  two  men  sat  together  in  the  pulpit.  This  visit  warmed 
her  heart  and  brought  back  happy,  even  though  pathetic, 
memories  of  old  times;  for  the  group  of  old  parishioners 
who  were  there  to  greet  her  was  small,  though  unfalteringly 
loyal. 

In  November,  1924,  Dr.  Barton  had  served  for  a  month 
as  chaplain  of  the  Lake  Placid  Club.  That  "university  club 
in  the  Adirondack  woods"  had  proved  a  delightful  place  for 
their  passing  of  an  interval  between  the  summer  and  autumn 
at  Foxboro  and  a  visit  to  Oak  Park  for  Christmas.  The  in- 
vitation was  repeated  and  gladly  accepted  for  1925,  the 
chaplaincy  to  begin  Monday,  November  16,  and  continue 
thirty  days. 

The  children  had  scattered,  excepting  Robert  and  his 
family,  and  the  preparations  for  closing  the  cottage  and  Wig- 
wam and  for  departure  for  the  winter  were  accomplished  in 
orderly  fashion  and  without  haste  or  worry.  Looking  back 
over  those  days,  it  is  impossible  to  recall  a  single  hour  or 
moment  of  vexation  or  irritation  or  anxiety  or  imprudence. 


48  J>  ESTHER   T.     BARTON 

Each  new  day  was  welcomed  as  it  came,  and  dismissed  with 
regret,  for  the  days  were  very  happy  ones.  At  night  the  big 
fire  played  cheerfully  in  the  fireplace. 

They  had  read  through  the  two  volumes  of  Dickens' 
"American  Notes"  as  they  were  returning  from  England,  and 
this  led  them  to  read  Mrs.  Trollope,  both  from  early  edi- 
tions, the  Dickens  having  been  purchased  as  they  were  leav- 
ing London.  As  the  evenings  lengthened,  they  read  Miss 
Alice  Clark's  book  on  her  experience  in  Turkey  and  Pro- 
fessor Ballantine's  new  book  on  the  Bible,  beside  one  or  two 
novels.  She  did  most  of  the  reading,  as  she  had  always  done. 
Almost  every  evening  Robert  and  Agnes  came  in  for  an 
hour,  and  almost  every  day  the  grandchildren  were  there, 
and  there  was  always  a  cookie  for  them. 

She  caught  up  with  her  correspondence.  She  sent  checks 
to  several  philanthropies.  On  Thursday  night  she  inveigled 
her  husband  into  hearing  a  rather  wearisome  appeal,  and  at 
the  end  said,  "There,  you  have  done  well !  I  had  no  idea  you 
would  have  patience  to  hear  that  through.  It  is  a  tedious 
story,  and  might  have  been  better  told;  but  after  all,  don't 
you  think  we  ought  to  help  a  little?"  And  the  next  night, 
as  they  were  riding  home  from  Boston,  she  spoke  of  a 
friend  in  the  South  who  had  encountered  an  unexpected 
difficulty  in  his  self-denying  work  and  said,  "Let  us  send 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <  49 

him  a  check;  it  will  encourage  him  to  know  that  we  care." 
The  date  for  departure  from  Foxboro  had  been  set  at 
Saturday,  November  14.  There  was  a  speaking  engagement 
in  Buffalo  for  Sunday  and  then  was  to  follow  their  month  at 
Lake  Placid  Club.  Friday,  November  6,  was  spent  in  a  visit 
to  Boston.  There  was  light  shopping  in  the  morning,  a  lunch 
at  Hotel  Bellevue,  after  which  she  sat  for  an  hour  comfort- 
ably resting  in  the  parlor  while  her  husband  did  some  minor 
errands.  Then  they  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Authors' 
Club.  There  were  special  reasons  for  their  interest  in  the 
program,  which  she  keenly  enjoyed.  They  returned  to  Fox- 
boro that  evening  not  greatly  wearied.  After  reaching  Fox- 
boro she  talked  with  Robert  and  Agnes  and  arranged  for  all 
four  to  go  again  to  Boston  on  the  following  Tuesday  and  see 
"The  Miracle."  She  rested  well  that  night,  and  rose  re- 
freshed and  happy. 

No  cloud  was  in  sight  that  Saturday  morning.  Her  hus- 
band kindled  the  customary  log  fire  in  the  fireplace,  and 
when  she  came  down  it  was  blazing  cheerfully.  They  stood 
a  few  moments  before  the  fire  and  then  ate  their  usual  break- 
fast. It  was  a  delightful  autumn  morning.  The  sun  was 
bright  and  warm.  She  was  planning  some  small  details  look- 
ing toward  the  departure  a  week  later.  There  was  no  haste  or 
strain  or  sense  of  pressure. 


50  J>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

A  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock  she  suffered  a  sharp  pain 
in  the  back  of  the  neck,  due  to  cerebral  hemorrhage.  For  fif- 
teen minutes  she  was  conscious  and  spoke  messages  of  love. 
Unconsciousness  followed,  and  at  one  o'clock,  without  a 
struggle,  she  died. 

XIII  —  Tributes  of  Affection 

The  telegraph  office  in  Foxboro  handles  only  railway 
business.  Messages  are  transmitted  by  the  telephone 
company  through  Mansfield  by  day  and  Taunton  at  night. 
These  two  offices  did  the  heaviest  two  days'  business  in 
their  history  in  receiving  the  messages  that  came  from 
friends  near  and  remote.  The  letters  that  followed  exceeded  a 
thousand,  and  were  from  friends  new  and  old,  some  of  whom 
had  never  seen  but  long  had  loved  her.  The  President  of  the 
United  States  sent  his  deep-felt  sympathy.  Mrs.  Coolidge,  in 
a  letter  of  three  pages  in  her  own  handwriting,  told  of  her 
respect,  affection  and  faith.  From  all  the  five  churches  where 
she  had  labored  with  her  husband,  from  all  the  organizations 
where  she  had  wrought  lovingly  with  thought  and  prayer, 
came  letters,  resolutions,  and  words  that  carried  their  own  as- 
surance of  genuine  sympathy  and  love.  From  beyond  the  sea, 
and  all  around  the  globe,  came  later  sincere  expressions  of 
respect.  Even  to  name  or  group  the  writers  would  be  labori- 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH         <51 

ous,  and  much  as  they  deserve  quotation,  the  selection  of  a 
sentence  from  each  would  unduly  swell  this  booklet.  This 
modest  Little  Lady  had  made  a  place  for  herself  in  hearts  all 
over  America  and  beyond  the  oceans. 

The  Barton  family,  while  long  resident  in  Foxboro  for 
the  summers,  has  had  limited  opportunity  for  social  inter- 
course there.  The  summer  seasons  have  been  short  and 
rather  well  filled.  Although  neighborly  courtesies  have  been 
exchanged,  and  there  was  every  reason  to  expect  sympathy 
when  this  sorrow  came,  the  extent  of  that  sympathy,  and  the 
varied  forms  of  its  expression,  were  a  surprise.  More  than 
ever  Foxboro  became  endeared  to  those  who  in  this  bereave- 
ment felt  the  friendship  of  the  neighborhood,  the  church  and 
the  community. 

XIV  —  The  Funeral 

The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  Congregational 
Church  of  Foxboro,  Wednesday  morning,  November 
11.  The  front  of  the  church  was  filled  with  flowers.  The  cas- 
ket was  covered  with  a  blanket  of  roses,  the  gift  of  her  chil- 
dren. Directly  in  front  was  a  beautiful  bouquet  from  the 
White  House,  the  gift  of  President  and  Mrs.  Coolidge.  On 
one  side  of  this  were  five  hundred  roses  from  the  First 
Church  of  Oak  Park,  and  a  beautiful  wreath  from  Shawmut 


omvawn  of  lumwr 


52  >  ESTHER   T.   BARTON 

Church,  Boston.  The  churches  at  Wellington  and  Litchfield, 
Ohio, and  Robbins, Tennessee, also  sent  tributes.  From  many 
societies  and  friends  in  every  part  of  the  country  came  flowers. 

Many  clergymen  were  in  the  congregation.  The  First 
Church  of  Oak  Park  and  Shawmut  Church  sent  official  dele- 
gations with  their  pastors. 

The  services  were  marked  by  a  dignified  simplicity.  Rev. 
Archibald  Cullens,  pastor  of  Foxboro  Church,  conducted  the 
service.  Mr.  Leigh  V.  Miller,  organist  of  the  church,  played 
softly  familiar  hymns.  Miss  Gretchen  Schofield,  soprano 
soloist  at  Shawmut  during  Dr.  Barton's  pastorate,  and  a 
dear  friend  of  Mrs.  Barton,  sang  "No  night  there" and  "For 
all  the  saints."  Mr.  Cullens  read  the  Scripture  lesson  and  a 
short  biographical  sketch.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  W. 
Ellsworth  Lawson,  former  pastor  at  Foxboro.  Short  and  ap- 
propriate addresses  were  delivered  by  Rev.  Albert  F. 
Pierce,  D.D.,  minister  of  Shawmut  Church,  and  Rev.  Albert 
W.  Palmer,  D.D.,  minister  of  the  First  Church  of  Oak  Park. 

The  pall-bearers  were  her  sons,  Bruce,  Charles,  Fred  and 
Robert,  her  son-in-law,  Clyde  S.  Stilwell,  and  Bruce's  part- 
ner, Mr.  Alex  F.  Osborn  of  Buffalo.  These,  her  own  boys, 
carried  the  body  of  the  Little  Mother  to  the  spot  where 
she  was  laid,  in  Rock  Hill  Cemetery,  across  Cocasset  Lake 
from  Pine  Knoll,  that  had  been  so  long  her  home. 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        <J  53 

XV  —  The  Memorial  Services 

The  Midweek  Service  of  the  First  Church  of  Oak  Park  on 
the  Wednesday  following  her  death  and  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  Woman's  Society  were  given  over  to  exercises  in 
her  memory.  A  formal  memorial  service  was  held  on  Sunday 
morning,  November  29,  conducted  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Al- 
bert W.  Palmer,  D.D. 

The  organist,  Mr.  Stanley  Seder,  rendered  as  a  prelude, 
Guilmant's  Marche  Funebre  et  Chant  Seraphique,  and  as  a 
postlude  Lester's  Threnody,  In  Memoriam.  The  hymns  were 
"For  all  the  saints"  and  "Immortal  love,  forever  full."  The 
choir  rendered  Noble's  anthem,  "Souls  of  the  Righteous," 
and  Mrs.  Seder  sang  Handel's  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth."  These  numbers  she  loved  and  the  last  was 
an  especial  favorite  with  her  and  expressed  a  faith  she 
cherished. 

Dr.  Palmer  read  the  story  of  Mrs.  Barton's  life.  Three  ad- 
dresses were  delivered.  Mrs.  James  H.  Moore  spoke  of  Mrs. 
Barton's  relation  to  the  Woman's  Board  of  Missions.  Mrs. 
George  M.  Davidson  spoke  for  the  women  of  the  church. 
Professor  Clarence  A.  Beckwith,  D.D.,  spoke  of  Mrs. 
Barton's  character  as  he  had  known  her  in  a  long  and  beauti- 
ful friendship.  These  addresses  appear  in  this  book.  The 
resolutions  of  the  church  were  as  follows : 


54  J=-  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

RESOLUTIONS  IN  HONOR  OF  MRS.  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

The  First  Congregational  Church  of  Oak  Park,  assembled 
at  the  midweek  service  on  Wednesday,  November  11,  1925, 
desires  to  place  on  record  its  tribute  to  the  memory  of  our 
beloved  Mrs.  William  E.  Barton,  who  entered  the  heavenly 
life  on  November  7, 1925;  and  we  hereby  express  our  univer- 
sal appreciation: 

For  the  constant  inspiration  she  was  to  her  husband  and 
children  as  wife  and  mother;  for  the  atmosphere  in  her  home 
of  spiritual  serenity;  for  the  sincerity  of  her  hospitality  which 
knew  no  distinction  of  class  or  condition; 

For  the  warmth  of  her  friendship,  the  breadth  of  her 
sympathies  for  an  ever-increasing  circle  of  acquaintance;  for 
the  wisdom  of  her  counsel,  for  the  kindliness  of  her  judg- 
ment, the  unselfishness  and  the  constancy  of  her  affection; 

For  the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  her  Christian  faith,  the 
quiet  strength  of  her  personal  character,  for  the  unstinted 
service  she  gave  to  the  church  and  to  the  work  of  Christ  rfl 
throughout  the  world; 

Therefore  be  it  resolved  that  this  expression  of  our  affec- 
tion for  her  and  sorrow  at  her  passing  be  spread  on  the  min- 
utes of  the  church,  be  published  in  the  press,  and  that  a  copy 
be  sent  to  Dr.  Barton  and  to  the  family  with  our  love  and 
deepest  sympathy. 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH       <  55 

XVI  —  Some  of  Her  Memorials 

For  Mrs.  Barton  are  named  three  memorials,  erected 
while  she  was  living  by  her  Oak  Park  friends.  One  is  the 
Esther  Nursery  at  Camp  Algonquin,  on  Fox  River,  a  place 
for  tired  mothers  and  children.  This  institution  began  in  Oak 
Park,  and  when  later  it  was  taken  over  by  the  United  Chari- 
ties of  Chicago,  Oak  Park  retained  a  special  interest  in  its 
support  and  oversight.  The  Oak  Park  Cottage,  the  Barton 
Library  and  the  Esther  Nursery  represent  a  part  of  that  in- 
terest. The  Madura  Mission  in  India  has  its  Esther  Barton 
Assembly  Hall,  for  which  the  money  was  contributed  by  Oak 
Park  friends.  At  Taiku,  Shansi,  China,  the  Esther  Barton 
Hospital  for  Women  and  Children  represents  an  interest  par- 
ticularly dear  to  her;  dear  also  were  those  who  have  it  in 
charge,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  A.  Hemingway  and  Helen  Dizney. 
Hers  also  was  a  full  half  of  the  affection  manifest  by  the 
First  Church  in  the  gift  of  money  for  Chicago  Theological 
Seminary  with  the  equipment  of  a  room  named  for  her  and 
her  husband. 

In  Berea  College,  Knapp  Hall  has  been  erected  for  the 
kind  of  teaching  she  did  in  that  school.  The  building  was 
the  gift  of  her  friend,  and  her  husband's  parishioner,  Miss 
Katharine  Knapp,  of  Boston.  Mrs.  Barton's  children  have 
furnished,  in  that  hall,  the  Esther  Barton  Room,  and  in 


56 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH       •<  57 

it  another  friend  and  parishioner,  May  Jones,  of  Oak  Park, 
is  at  present  teacher.  In  Berea  also  her  children  have  con- 
tributed the  Esther  Barton  scholarship.  Besides  these  me- 
morials, there  is  the  Pinnacle.  That  also  is  sacred  to  her 
memory. 

XVII  —  A  Life  of  the  Beatitudes 

To  sit  in  calm,  dispassionate  judgment  on  her  life,  and 
pronounce  in  detachment  an  estimate  of  her  character, 
is  not  the  attempt  of  the  writer.  But  not  even  the  affection 
that  has  grown  out  of  a  companionship  of  forty  years  can 
wholly  disqualify  him  for  a  brief  analysis  of  some  of  her 
qualities.  She  had  a  good  mind,  strong  common  sense,  calm 
judgment  and  practical  wisdom.  With  these  qualities  she 
combined  in  rare  proportion  deep  feeling  and  most  generous 
sympathy.  She  was  the  soul  of  discretion,  and  she  never  be- 
trayed a  confidence.  Such  knowledge  as  she  had  of  the  con- 
fidential matters  that  gravitate  toward  the  home  of  a  min- 
ister were  sacred  in  her  keeping.  Firm  and  uncompromising 
in  her  own  loyalty  to  duty,  she  was  most  charitable  toward 
those  who  failed;  and  more  than  one  life  found  strength  for  a 
new  beginning  in  her  charity  and  helpfulness. 

As  a  wife  and  mother  she  approached  perfection.  The 
writer  is  unable  to  imagine  her  in  a  situation  in   which, 


58  >  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

clearly  seeing  that  one  course  of  conduct  was  right  and 
another  wrong,  she  could  deliberately  choose  the  wrong. 
Nor  was  her  judgment  often  at  fault  in  such  matters.  She 
had  an  intuitive  and  almost  inerrant  judgment  of  ethical 
questions.  Long  before  her  husband  had  reasoned  out  the 
rights  and  wrongs  of  a  problem,  as  he  sought  to  do  with 
laborious  precision,  she  simply  knew.  She  did  not  affirm 
her  knowledge  with  arrogance, — quite  the  contrary, — but 
when  her  husband  had  thought  out  what  ought  to  be  done, 
he  found  that  she  had  felt  sure  of  it  for  some  time;  and 
when,  as  infrequently  happened,  they  did  not  see  alike,  she 
was  quite  as  likely  to  be  right  as  he.  There  was  something 
in  her  quiet  assurance  that  disarmed  protest — as  when  she 
simply  knew  that  it  was  right  for  her  to  go  around  the 
world,  no  matter  what  the  doctors  said.  And  the  doctors 
said  that  her  calm  assurance  that  it  was  right  for  her  to 
go  was  a  very  reassuring  element  in  the  situation.  Her 
character  and  self-control  being  what  they  were,  the  phy- 
sicians guardedly  approved  her  decision  to  go.  In  such  de- 
cisions she  was  almost  inerrant;  and  having  made  them, 
she  never  afterward  faltered  or  looked  back. 

Dr.  Edward  A.  Steiner,  who  had  known  her  since  he  and 
Dr.  Barton  were  students  together  in  Oberlin  Theological 
Seminary,  thirty-six  years  ago,  said  of  her : 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH       <f  59 

"The  light  of  heaven  was  always  upon  her  face.  It  was 
something  deeper  than  a  smile;  it  was  like  the  reflection  of  a 
halo.  I  always  thought  of  her  as  having  inherited  eternal  life, 
and  reflecting  it." 

She  had  a  few,  a  very  few,  lovable  little  vanities.  What 
they  were  need  not  here  be  related.  Her  husband  respected 
them  and  loved  her  the  more  for  them.  She  was  keenly  sen- 
sitive, and  as  she  so  quickly  felt  the  pain  of  any  slight  or  neg- 
lect (which  fortunately  was  not  often) ,  so  she  sought  to  avoid 
any  possible  occasion  by  which  pain  might  be  given  to 
others.  Prejudices  she  could  not  cherish,  and  as  for  harboring 
resentments,  she  did  not  know  how  to  do  it.  But  she  never 
forgot  kindnesses,  and  she  was  almost  childishly  appreciative 
of  appreciation. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  tell  how  she  combined  a  shy 
modesty  with  a  calm  confidence  in  her  own  intuitions,  but 
she  did  so.  She  did  not  intrude  her  judgments  on  others,  but 
often  when  there  had  been  discussion  and  divergent  opinion 
and  she  was  finally  asked  to  give  her  view,  she  did  it  with  a 
quiet  assurance  which  only  those  who  knew  it  can  under- 
stand, and  it  was  almost  if  not  quite  invariably  justified  in 
the  result. 

Generous  as  she  was,  she  was  a  prudent  little  financier, 
both  as  to  her  own  household  and  her  benevolences,  and  she 


60  fc~  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

kept  close  watch  of  her  bank  balances  and  checked  them  up 
with  her  knowledge  of  the  good  causes  that  needed  money. 
She  believed  that  God  rewarded  faith  and  generosity.  Her 
husband  was  accustomed  to  say  to  her,  "You  are  one  of  God's 
spoiled  children;  He  gives  you  everything  you  wish  for." 

But  her  gifts  of  money  were  not  her  largest  beneficences. 
She  gave  her  love,  her  sympathy,  her  prayer.  She  had  "a 
heart  at  leisure  from  itself  "and  she  gave  it  freely.  Her  life  was 
an  alabaster  box,  broken  and  emptied  daily,  yet  as  con- 
stantly replenished. 

The  secret  of  all  this  and  more  was  her  serene  Christian 
faith.  This  was  what  made  sacrifice  sweet  and  caused  her  to 
remember  economies  and  self-denials  with  a  happy  smile. 
Hers  was  a  life  of  daily  prayer,  of  daily  reading  of  her  Bible, 
of  daily  finding  of  strength  for  the  day's  tasks.  Hers  was  a 
piety  devoid  of  cant.  Hers  was  a  charity  that  thought  no 
evil  and  never  failed.  Her  life  was  a  life  of  the  Beatitudes.  If 
the  pure  in  heart  see  God,  hers  is  a  radiant  vision. 


FOUR  TRIBUTES  TO  HER  MEMORY 


I.  SAINT  ESTHER 

Address  at  the  Memorial  Service 
By  Prof.  Clarence  A.  Beckwith,  D.D. 

I 

There  is  a  word  somewhere  in  the  Bible  which  reads, 
"Woe  unto  you  when  all  men  speak  well  of  you."  This 
may  be  true  as  a  rule,  but,  if  so,  its  truth  is  proved  by  rare 
exceptions.  Today  we  commemorate  the  exception.  Our  be- 
loved friend  was  known  by  thousands  of  people  all  over  the 
world;  we  have  ourselves  heard  hundreds  of  allusions  to  her, 
but  never  a  word  of  criticism  or  dispraise.  This  does  not  mean 
that  she  was  merely  complaisant  and  easy-going,  without 
strong  and  urgent  convictions.  On  the  contrary,  she  was  a 
person  of  firm  and  resolute  moral  judgment,  her  life  a  per- 
petual embodiment  of  high,  commanding  ideals.  Some  people 
are  born  to  be  firebrands  and  strew  their  path  with  ashes  of 
destructive  deeds;  others  are  born  to  be  reformers  to  over- 
throw the  established  order.  These  doubtless  have  a  place  in 
the  plan  of  God.  But  others  are  born  to  a  different  mission — 

61 


62  }c-  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

to  perfect  the  art  of  being  kind,  to  serve  in  unrecorded  min- 
istries, to  bind  up  broken  hearts,  to  increase  the  sum  of  hu- 
man joy.  Of  these  Mrs.  Barton  was  a  shining  instance.  At 
what  cost  this  grace  was  won  for  her  and  by  her,  we  do  not 
know;  we  only  know  that  some  one  paid  the  price,  and  that 
she  carried  to  a  still  higher  degree  the  "sweetness  and  light" 
which  were  hers  by  a  rare  inheritance  of  birth.  Had  we  been 
sensitive  to  the  harmonies  which  awoke  wherever  she  went, 
we  would  have  felt  again  the  truth  in  Wordsworth's  great 
Ode  to  Duty: 

"Flowers  laugh  before  thee  on  their  beds, 
And  fragrance  in  thy  footing  treads." 

II 

Mrs.  Barton  was  a  woman  of  very  unusual  charm.  We 
know  what  "charm"  is,  that  is,  we  feel  it,  but  we  can- 
not define  it.  It  is  of  many  kinds;  there  is  a  charm  of  face 
and  form;  the  charm  of  a  quiet  voice;  the  charm  of  simple, 
unaffected  manner;  the  charm  of  beautiful  courtesy.  All  this 
and  far  more  was  true  of  her.  There  was  a  singular  blending 
of  qualities  which  too  often  exist  in  sharp  separateness.  She 
had  the  heart  of  a  child,  innocent  and  unspoiled,  and  the 
wisdom  which  is  fruit  of  wide  and  deep  experience.  Piety,  un- 
questioning faith,  mystical  awareness  of  the  presence  of  God, 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        cj63 

went  hand  in  hand  with  an  eager,  open  mind  to  learn  what 
may  be  known  of  the  Bible  and  Christian  truth  in  the  light 
of  modern  thought.  To  a  rare  aesthetic  sensitivity  to  the  high- 
est forms  of  art — poetry,  painting,  sculpture,  music — she 
joined  a  sound  practical  common  sense  in  the  management 
of  her  household  and  in  her  attitude  toward  problems  of  con- 
duct before  which  our  age  stands  perplexed.  Nowhere  else  is 
this  insight  so  exquisitely  revealed  as  in  the  Parables  of  Saf  ed 
the  Sage,  where  it  is  left  for  Keturah  with  unerring  wisdom 
to  prick  the  iridescent  bubble  and  speak  the  last  word.  This 
is  her  husband's  fine  tribute  to  his  wife's  keen,  playful,  ever- 
ready,  unanswerable  common  sense.  Another  rare  blend  was 
her  varied  bearing  toward  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men — 
to  the  helper  in  the  kitchen  or  the  caller  in  the  drawing- 
room,  equally  at  her  ease  with  the  peasant  of  the  Tennessee 
mountains  and  with  the  first  lady  of  the  land.  We  think  of  her 
as  a  star  that  dwelt  apart  and  also  as  the  light  of  common 
day.  Everywhere  and  always  the  same,  yet  always  and 
everywhere  different — always  a  lady,  a  true  pastor's  wife,  a 
friend  of  every  one,  a  Christian  woman,  and  always  giving 
herself  to  each  one  with  special  attention  and  service  as  if  no 
other  demand  was  upon  her.  To  say  that  she  was  born  this 
way  tells  only  half  of  the  truth;  the  gift  entrusted  to  her  by 
birth  she  held  fast  and  made  her  very  own  by  a  beautiful  use. 


64  J>  E  S  T  H  E  R   T.    B  A  R  T  O  N 

III 

We  are  told  of  a  "fierce  light  that  beats  upon  a  throne." 
In  the  circle  within  which  we  move  there  is,  however, 
no  fiercer^ light  than  that  which  beats  upon  a  pastor's  wife, 
not  even  that  which  plays  upon  the  pastor  himself.  For  here 
everything  is  at  close  range  and  in  the  blaze  of  day.  It  is  more 
true  of  her  than  of  any  other  woman  that  she  cannot,  even 
if  she  would,  escape  the  utmost  of  publicity.  How  she  dresses ; 
how  she  governs  her  household  affairs;  how  she  meets  her  so- 
cial duties;  how  she  uses  the  English  language;  how  she 
trains  her  children  (and  perhaps  her  husband) ;  whether  she 
keeps  in  touch  with  the  young  people;  what  her  interest  in 
the  various  charitable  and  missionary  causes;  and  a  hundred 
other  far  more  intimate  and  sometimes  impertinent  curios- 
ities and  comments — in  these  ways  the  pastor's  wife  faces  a 
perpetual  judgment-day.  Yet  we,  the  men  and  women  and 
children  of  this  church,  know  and  with  grateful  hearts  ac- 
knowledge the  radiant  light  which  shone  about  her  as  the 
ever-thoughtful  and  devoted  friend  of  us  all. 

The  pastor  is  alone  fully  aware  of  the  delicate  positions 
into  which  his  wife  is  thrust.  She  must  see  to  his  food,  his 
clothes,  his  pulpit  manners,  save  him  from  unnecessary  in- 
terruptions, aid  him  in  his  pastoral  duties,  be  a  balance- 
wheel  when  he  goes  too  fast  or  too  slow,  be  one  whom 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        <  65 

men  admire  and  serve,  whom  women  love  and  trust.  She  is 
not  "called"  to  this  task;  no  salary  pays  her  for  her  labor;  by 
no  ecclesiastical  hands  is  she  set  apart  for  this  service;  here, 
however,  if  anywhere  in  our  world,  do  we  behold  the  miracle 
of  the  burning  bush,  ever  aflame  yet  unconsumed,  and  here 
the  alabaster  box  whose  priceless  content  is  poured  out  in 
the  uncalculating  ministry  of  love.  Were  Mrs.  Barton  to  live 
over  again  the  years  which  she  spent  here  with  us  as  our  pas- 
tor's wife,  we  do  not  know  wherein  we  could  ask  her  to 
change,  nor  on  our  part  do  we  see  how  we  could  render  her  a 
more  affectionate  appreciation  than  from  first  to  last  we  gave 
to  her  with  all  our  hearts. 

IV 

The  Catholic  Church,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all,  has 
names  of  women  starred  in  its  calendar,  by  solemn  decree 
long  after  their  death  beatified  or  canonized  as  saints.  We,  as 
a  great  denomination  or  as  individual  churches,  have  nothing 
corresponding  to  this,  and  we  are  the  poorer  account  of  it; 
even  Mother's  Day  does  not  meet  the  need.  Would  it  not  be 
a  fitting  and  beautiful  tribute  to  her  whose  name  is  already 
inscribed  as  a  perpetual  memorial  on  so  many  shrines  of 
Christian  service — the  Esther  Barton  Hospital  for  Women 
and  Children  at  Taiku,  China,  the  Esther  Barton  Assembly 


66  Jj-  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

Hall  of  the  Madura  Mission,  and  the  Esther  Nursery  at 
Camp  Algonquin  on  the  Fox  River — would  it  not  be  a  beau- 
tiful recognition  to  set  apart  in  our  calendar,  as  a  perpetual 
memorial  of  her,  our  common  Saint — St.  Esther,  if  you 
please — the  second  Sunday  of  November  in  each  year;  on 
that  day  let  her  name  appear  on  our  Church  Herald,  and 
simple  flowers  symbolize  the  grace  and  fragrance  of  her 
spirit. 

V 

I  have  been  thinking  which  flowers  would  best  typify  her 
beautiful  self.  I  thought  of  the  Trailing  Arbutus,  earliest  of 
our  spring  flowers,  whose  loveliness  is  hidden  away  and  must 
be  sought  for  in  the  forest  depths,  harbinger  of  the  procession 
of  summer  flowers.  I  thought  of  the  pansy,  lifting  up  its  mod- 
est face  from  its  lowly  bed,  giving  back  to  those  who  behold 
it  sweet  thoughts  of  quietness  and  confidence.  I  thought  of 
the  rose,  queen  of  summer  flowers,  with  its  haunting  beauty 
and  fragrance,  spending  itself  lavishly  and  without  stint  in 
its  ineffably  sweet  sacrificial  self-giving.  I  thought  of  the 
chrysanthemum — flower  of  gold — with  its  myriad  glory  of 
lovely  petals,  each  harmonizing  with  and  fulfilling  the 
beauty  of  all  the  rest,  symbol  of  a  richly  endowed  and  richly 
blooming  life.  I  thought  finally  of  the  pine  and  fir,  perennial 
and  unwithering,  a  shade  in  summer,  a  shield  in  winter,  all 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        cj  67 

the  while  prophetic  of  the  never-ending  life.  I  would  that  all 
of  these  were  in  my  hand  today  that  I  might  weave  them 
into  a  wreath  as  a  token  of  her  life. 

VI 

For  a  little  while  God  lent  her  to  the  earth, — to  the 
mountain  dwellers  of  Tennessee,  to  churches  in  town 
and  city,  and  last  and  longest  of  all  to  us.  She  belonged  to  her 
husband  by  marriage,  to  her  children  by  motherhood,  but 
she  is  also  theirs  and  ours  and  will  always  be  in  a  love  which 
in  higher  love  endures. 

"Nothing  is  here  for  tears,  nothing  to  wail, 
Or  knock  the  breast,  no  weakness,  no  contempt, 
Dispraise  or  blame, — nothing  but  well  and  fair." 


II.  THE  MISTRESS  OF  THE  MANSE 

Address  at  the  Memorial  Service 
By  Mrs.  George  M.  Davidson 

My  recollections  of  Mrs.  Barton  date  from  the  arrival  of 
the  family  in  Oak  Park,  in  March,  1899.  She  was  a 
modest,  rather  shy  little  woman,  mother  of  five  sturdy  chil- 
dren. The  future  was  full  of  problems  and  not  easy  to  face. 


68  J>  ESTHERT.BARTON 

This  church  was  then  in  the  old  building,  disturbed  by  the 
loss  of  its  former  pastor,  and  facing  reorganization.  She  ap- 
preciated the  difficulties  and  cheerfully  took  up  her  respon- 
sibilities^ 

Domestic  life  twenty-six  years  ago  was  not  conducted  as 
easily  as  it  is  today.  Modern  conveniences  were  few;  Oak 
Park  was  a  village  in  every  sense.  I  cite  this  fact  for  it  indi- 
cates how  frequently  her  brain  was  taxed,  her  ingenuity 
tested  when  unexpected  needs  arose. 

She  never  seemed  impatient,  or  in  a  hurry,  always  pre- 
senting a  cheery  face  when  outside  demands  were  made  upon 
her.  The  minister's  house  kept  open  doors,  many  transient 
guests  and  wayfarers  found  a  haven  under  its  hospitable 
roof.  At  times  the  uninvited  guests  remained  for  months.  I 
recall  an  Oriental  tribal  sheik  who  was  an  inmate  of  the  home 
for  several  months.  The  immediate  family  of  seven  was  en- 
larged by  one  or  two  homeless  young  persons.  Cousins  also 
came  for  the  period  of  high  school  days.  Rather  a  burden- 
some family  for  one  little  woman  to  manage.  At  times  her 
tact,  patience,  fortitude  and  executive  ability  must  have 
been  severely  tested.  I  will  relate  one  incident.  To  many  the 
story  is  old,  but  worth  repeating  for  it  points  so  directly  to 
her  characteristics,  the  chief  of  which  was  charity.  "Charity 
suffereth  long  and  is  kind."  When  the  family  was  living  in 


ABIOGRAPHICALSKETCH         ■<  69 

Tennessee,  and  Bruce,  the  eldest  son,  was  about  a  few 
months  old,  Dr.  Barton  found  a  colored  boy  sitting  one  day 
disconsolate  on  the  door-step  of  the  saw-mill.  He  learned 
that  the  father  had  run  away  and  that  the  mother  lay  dead 
in  their  cabin.  Dr.  Barton  took  the  boy  to  their  home.  The 
mother's  heart  was  touched,  she  accepted  the  orphan, 
cleaned,  clothed,  taught  him  how  to  live.  She  accepted  him 
as  a  member  of  her  family.  When  the  time  came  to  put  him 
in  school  he  was  rated  with  twelve-year-old  children.  Upon 
moving  to  Boston  he  was  too  immature  for  that  age,  so  he 
was  set  back  two  years.  Having  no  birthday  he  was  called  "a 
Thanksgiving  child."  A  year  after  his  coming  to  the  home  a 
real  son  came  to  add  joy  to  the  Thanksgiving  Day,  when 
Charles  William  was  born.  One  can  imagine  that  such  an 
oddly  assorted  family  was  difficult  to  explain  and  handle. 
The  colored  boy  was  sent  to  college  and  medical  school  and 
has  become  a  useful  citizen  and  physician  among  his  own 
people  in  southern  Illinois.  The  home  environment,  with  her 
training  and  understanding,  reaped  its  reward. 

A  committee  from  the  Woman's  Society  of  this  church 
drafted  the  following  resolution,  which  was  passed  at  its 
last  meeting. 

"'Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall, 
Some  days  must  be  dark  and  dreary.' 


70  >•  ESTHER   T.   BARTON 

"So  into  the  life  of  the  Woman's  Society  has  come  the 
day  of  its  greatest  sadness  in  the  loss  of  its  former  leader  and 
most  beloved  member,  Mrs.  Barton. 

"Our  superlatives  are  inadequate,  our  tears  do  not  com- 
fort, though  our  thoughts  are  hallowed  by  beautiful  mem- 
ories sacred  to  her  and  her  work  among  us. 

"If  on  that  memorable  voyage  of  twenty-five  years  we 
kept  in  the  channel  of  harmony  and  drew  ever  nearer  the 
port  of  good  works,  it  was  because  she  was  our  pilot,  our 
compass,  our  ballast,  and,  ofttimes,  our  fuel.  She  grew  as  we 
grew  and  her  hand  on  the  wheel  of  our  ocean  liner  was  just  as 
steady  and  as  firm  as  when  it  steered  the  modest  craft  she 
found  waiting  her  twenty-six  years  ago. 

"Our  love  grew  apace  for  we  recognized  in  her  the  almost 
perfect  blending  of  character,  leadership  and  service. 

"In  departing  she  has  left  behind  her  footprints  on  the 
Sands  of  Love,  which  the  waves  of  the  years  cannot  erase, 
representing  an  influence  upon  many  hearts. 

"The  elements  of  that  life  we  all  know.  It  needs  no  chem- 
ist's acid  nor  scientist's  lens  to  find  the  iron  of  her  moral 
strength,  the  gold  of  her  friendship  nor  the  radium  of  her 
spiritual  self,  with  the  ever-fusing  power  of  the  love  she  gave 
and  the  love  she  received. 

"Her  page  in  the  book  of  Life  is  written  close  with  the 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH       •<  71 

record  of  kindly  deeds  done  all  unknown  to  the  world.  Her 
left  hand  truly  knew  little  of  what  her  right  hand  chose  to  do, 
and  as  the  word  of  her  passing  finds  its  way  around  the  globe 
people  of  many  tongues  will  tell  for  the  first  time  of  their 
contact  with  that  unselfish  and  generous  spirit  which  tried  to 
meet  and  so  often  anticipated  the  needs  of  others." 

This  statement  we  heartily  endorse. 

Mrs.  Barton  was  a  constant  inspiration.  She  was  spir- 
itually serene,  with  a  simple  and  beautiful  faith.  She  lived  her 
religion,  her  warmth  of  friendship  knew  no  bounds,  her  heart, 
big  enough  for  all,  never  showed  favoritism.  Always  modest 
and  unobtrusive,  her  judgment  was  clear  and  kindly,  gen- 
erous almost  to  a  fault.  She  was  most  unselfish  in  her  services 
to  the  church.  The  calm  brow,  the  clear  eye,  indicated  her 
unwavering  faith  and  inward  peace,  undisturbed  by  the 
rushing  life  without.  With  Whittier  she  may  have  sung: 

"Dear  Lord  and  Father  of  mankind, 

Forgive  our  feverish  ways, 
Reclothe  us  in  our  rightful  mind, 
In  purer  lives  thy  service  find, 

In  deeper  reverence  praise." 

Of  her  we  can  say,  "All  jarring  notes  of  life  seem  blended 
in  a  psalm." 


72  >•  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

AFoxboro  summer  neighbor  said  to  me :  "Mrs.  Barton  was 
never  too  busy  for  a  friendly  greeting,  her  hospitality  was 
widely  known ;  she  ever  loved  to  talk  of  her  Oak  Park  friends.'* 

We  rejoice  that  the  last  years  of  her  life  were  serene  and 
comfortable.  Her  desires  for  her  children  were  fulfilled, 
daughter  and  sons  well  equipped  for  life,  settled  in  happy 
homes,  with  little  children  to  bless  them.  The  arduous  duties 
of  a  pastor's  wife  finished,  the  long  journey  with  her  husband 
happily  over,  a  peaceful  summer,  surrounded  by  her  loved 
ones.  Serene,  content,  with  tranquil  faith  she  met  the 
Master's  call. 

Her  last  weeks  were  full  of  happiness.  She  rejoiced  in  the 
finishing  of  the  Lincoln  Room,  presided  beautifully  at  its 
opening  reception ;  she  revelled  in  the  glowing  colors  of  the 
autumn  as  they  touched  the  foliage  and  were  mirrored  in  the 
little  lake  which  lies  at  the  doorstep  of  the  home,  and  finally 
went  quietly  to  sleep  with  loved  ones  near. 

Her  earthly  life  is  finished,  but  its  beauty  will  be  lasting. 
We  will  ever  cherish  her  memory  as  an  example  of  ideal 
womanhood. 


ABIOGRAPHICALSKETCH         <J  73 

III.  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  FRIENDLESS 

Address  at  the  Memorial  Service 
By  Mrs.  James  H.  Moore 

In  the  passing  of  Mrs.  William  E.  Barton,  the  Woman's 
Board  of  Missions  of  the  Interior  has  lost  a  devoted  and 
beloved  member  of  its  Board  of  Managers.  She  came  to  the 
Board  in  the  fall  of  1921,  and  though  we  thus  had  had  her  ac- 
tive cooperation  only  a  little  over  three  years  up  to  the  time 
of  her  leaving  Chicago,  yet  in  that  short  time  the  quality  of 
her  service  has  left  us  a  rich  memory.  Loyalty,  patience  and 
willingness  to  think  a  problem  through  to  the  end,  a  sympa- 
thetic understanding  of  the  work,  coupled  with  sane  judg- 
ment, these  were  some  of  her  characteristics.  There  was  also 
a  spirit  of  courage  which  showed  itself  in  a  quiet  initiative 
which  not  infrequently  led  to  a  solution  of  a  difficult  problem. 
The  naming  of  the  two  institutions  for  her — the  Esther 
Barton  Assembly  Hall  of  Madura,  India,  and  the  Esther 
Barton  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children  at  Taiku,  China — 
was  for  her  a  recognized  bond  not  only  between  her  and  the 
institutions  themselves,  but  also  to  those  connected  with 
them.  One  such  missionary  will  always  cherish  as  a  precious 
memory  a  heart-to-heart  talk  with  Mrs.  Barton  at  the  last 
National  Congregational  Council  in  Washington. 


74  >•  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

Her  generosity  was  equal  to  her  ability  to  give.  I  well  re- 
member an  occasion  when  a  sub-committee  was  confronted 
with  the  painful  necessity  of  refusing  a  request  for  a  modest 
sum  for  a  definite  and  appealing  bit  of  work.  In  the  silence  of 
themoment,  Mrs.  Barton  quietly  said  :'T11  take  careof  that." 

Again  when  she  was  faced  with  the  probable  disappoint- 
ment of  not  accompanying  her  husband  on  the  world-trip, 
she  slipped  into  the  Treasurer's  office  one  day  and  laid  a 
check  of  goodly  size  upon  the  desk,  with  the  word,  "That 
now  can  go  to  the  school  in  Bulgaria." 

We  had  learned  to  love  Mrs.  Barton,  and  when  it  was 
learned  that  she  and  Dr.  Barton  were  to  spend  this  year  in 
the  East,  we  were  unwilling  to  lose  her  name,  and  elected  her 
as  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  at  large,  an  honor  which  she 
had  graciously  and  gladly  accepted  but  a  few  weeks  ago.  Of 
her  love  for  the  Board  we  have  had  a  final  proof.  A  friend 
sent  to  Dr.  Barton  a  small  check,  saying  it  was  too  late  to 
send  flowers  for  the  service,  but  she  wished  the  enclosed  to 
be  given  to  some  philanthropy  in  which  Mrs.  Barton  was 
much  interested.  Dr.  Barton  sent  the  gift  to  this  Board. 

In  closing  I  will  quote  a  few  words  written  by  our  Home 
Secretary,  Miss  Uline:  "Those  who  knew  her  best  felt  that 
her  life  was  a  lovely  garden  where  seeds  of  goodness,  kind- 
ness, sweetness  and  gentleness  were  planted — seeds  that 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        cj  75 

grew  into  flowers  of  radiant  bloom.  At  this  thankful,  joyous 
season  of  the  year  when  our  hearts  are  singing  songs  of  praise 
and  gratitude,  when  the  spirit  of  Christmas  is  hovering 
around  our  hearths,  we  thank  God  for  the  life  of  one  who 
walked  by  the  side  of  her  Master  and  helped  to  make  Him 
known  in  her  own  beloved  country  and  in  lands  beyond  the 
seas/' 


IV.  A  TRIBUTE  TO  KETURAH 

By  Grace  M.  Chapin 

(Note:  The  little  article  which  is  printed  below  appeared  in  The  Congre- 
gationalist  of  April  10,  1924,  at  the  time  of  the  celebration  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  Dr.  Barton's  pastorate,  and  was  a  complete  surprise  to 
both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Barton.) 

We  expect  worthy  honors  for  public-spirited  ministers 
who  are  serving  the  Church  and  nation  nobly  and 
well,  but  when  the  minister's  wife  receives  her  own  meed  of 
praise,  we  take  especial  pleasure  in  recording  it.  During  the 
brilliant  and  extensive  festivities  at  the  First  Congregational 
Church  in  Oak  Park,  Illinois,  in  honor  of  Dr.  William  E. 
Barton's  distinguished  pastorate  of  twenty-five  years,  high 
tribute  has  been  paid  to  a  sweet  and  modest  little  woman 
who  figures  as  Keturah  in  the  Parables  of  Safed.  The  be- 
loved Keturah  of  sound  sense  and  practical  abilities,  how- 


76  J>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

ever,  but  partially  represents  Mrs.  Barton.  Her  warm  sym- 
pathies, self-control,  even  temperament,  earnest  faith,  and 
personal  quiet  charm  have  given  her  the  enviable  reputation 
of  a  minister's  wife  against  whom  no  word  of  criticism  has 
ever  been  heard. 

During  the  anniversary  week,  a  reception-party  was 
given  by  the  young  people  of  the  church  to  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Barton  at  which  the  boys  and  girls  expressed  their  appre- 
ciation in  their  own  words,  and  one  young  man  who  spoke 
warmly  of  Dr.  Barton's  unceasing  interest  in  the  soldiers  in 
the  war-times  added,  "And  as  to  Mrs.  Barton — well,  all  I 
can  say  is  that,  next  to  our  own  mothers,  she  has  been  a 
mother  to  us  all."  In  her  reply,  Mrs.  Barton  expressed  with 
quiet  sincerity  her  own  love  for  all  the  young  people  and  said 
that  they  would  all  go  locked  in  her  heart  and  in  Dr.  Barton's 
on  their  trip  around  the  world.  She  urged  them  to  continue 
in  loyalty  to  Christ  and  the  Church  with  such  affectionate  in- 
terest as  carried  its  own  strong  influence  with  the  bright- 
faced  big  group  around  her. 

On  Thursday,  March  20,  the  Woman's  Society  of  the 
church  served  luncheon  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  women 
in  honor  of  Mrs.  Barton — a  splendid  body  of  active,  intel- 
ligent, consecrated  women,  all  eager  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
gentle,  unassuming  leadership  that  has  meant  so  much  to 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        •<  77 

them  these  twenty-five  years.  As  one  said,  "Whenever  we 
have  had  any  knotty  problems  in  our  executive  board,  we 
have  always  left  it  till  we  could  talk  it  over  with  Mrs.  Bar- 
ton." A  young  woman  in  her  toast  to  Mrs.  Barton  spoke  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Barton  as  the  two  busiest  people  she  had  ever 
known  who  yet  always  had  time  for  other  people's  needs,  the 
first  to  welcome  strangers,  the  first  to  call  in  hours  of  sorrow. 
She  spoke  of  what  Mrs.  Barton's  influence  had  meant  to  the 
girls  of  the  church — of  how  she  herself,  just  married,  had 
had  for  her  ideal  of  home  making  and  wifehood  Mrs.  Bar- 
ton's home-life.  Another,  who  had  traveled  round  the  world, 
told  of  the  generous  interest  Mrs.  Barton  had  had  always  in 
the  unfortunate  in  far  countries.  In  China  and  in  India  are 
hospitals  bearing  her  name.  An  ideal  mother  herself,  one 
speaker  told  how,  unconsciously,  as  her  own  family  sat 
behind  Mrs.  Barton's  growing  family  of  four  sons  and  a 
daughter,  for  ten  years,  she  had  taken  pattern  by  Mrs. 
Barton's  wise  and  patient  motherliness.  Through  grades 
and  high  schools,  mothers  had  often  decided  for  their 
children  by  Mrs.  Barton's  decisions  for  her  own  bright, 
vigorous  children. 

The  gracious  president  of  the  Woman's  Board  of  Missions 
of  the  Interior  said  beautifully  of  Mrs.  Barton,  "When  we 
are  faced  with  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  in  our 


78  >  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

Board  meetings,  I  look  into  Mrs.  Barton's  calm,  hopeful, 
beautiful  face  and  take  courage,  knowing  that  we  shall  find 
the  way.  She  never  says  much,  but  always  what  she  says  is 
wise  and  helpful."  It  was  in  appreciation  of  this  constant 
ability  to  say  the  right  word  at  the  very  moment  of  need, 
that  the  women  of  the  church  wished  to  give  a  special  re- 
minder to  Mrs.  Barton  of  their  love  and  loyalty.  A  hand- 
some traveling  case  completely  fitted  was  presented,  in  a 
felicitous  address  by  Mrs.  Beverly  T.  Thompson,  with  a  gift 
in  gold  for  buying  abroad  something  that  Mrs.  Barton  might 
choose  herself. 

In  reply  to  the  beautiful  praise  she  had  received,  this 
little  lady  of  "invincible  modesty"  said  that  she  only  wished 
she  were  the  person  that  had  been  described.  With  charac- 
teristic simplicity  and  seriousness,  she  told  these  long-time 
friends  of  her  love  for  them  all,  of  her  happiness  in  her  life 
among  them  as  a  minister's  wife,  of  the  "great  kindness"  of 
the  church  to  her  and  to  her  family.  She  said  she  would  ad- 
vise all  young  women  to  marry  ministers — of  course,  pro- 
viding they  were  able  to  find  one  like  hers !  She  said  she  and 
Dr.  Barton  would  hope  to  come  back  to  see  them  all  after 
the  world  trip  and  would  hope  to  find  the  church  stronger 
than  ever.  "Nothing  would  break  our  hearts  like  not  having 
the  work  grow  greater  than  ever."  With  unaffected  earnest- 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        •<  79 

ness  she  urged  loyalty  to  Christ  and  his  cause,  at  the  same 
time  giving  the  impression  that  she  confidently  knew  that 
every  one  present  would  live  for  that  purpose.  Perhaps  it  is 
because  she  is  unaware  of  the  strength  of  her  influence  that 
everybody  loves  her  so  sincerely.  It  was  like  her  to  say  after- 
wards at  home,  "I  do  wish  I  could  make  a  speech !  I  do  wish 
I  could  have  told  them  how  much  I  love  them  and  how 
grateful  I  am  to  them  all!" 

Large-souled,  high-minded,  generous-hearted,  sane  and 
wise,  this  minister's  wife  has  filled  her  high  position  with 
grace  and  charm,  doing  untold  good  in  quiet  ways.  She  re- 
minds us  of  one  whose  "husband  praiseth  her"  and  whose 
"children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed." 


TWO  PARABLES 


Reference  has  been  made  in  the  biographical  sketch  to 
the  name  "Keturah."  When  Dr.  Barton  was  editing 
The  Advance,  horn  1913  to  1917,  he  wrote,  under  different  pen- 
names,  a  considerable  part  of  the  paper,  and  sought  unique 
ways  of  approach  and  varying  methods  of  literary  expres- 
sions. On  a  journey  down  the  Mississippi  in  the  spring  of 
1914  he  wrote  the  first  of  a  series  of  "Parables  of  Safed  the 
Sage,"  and  these  have  continued  to  appear  regularly  ever 
since.  In  them  Mrs.  Barton  was  referred  to  as  "Keturah/' 
Much  of  her  practical  wisdom  and  something  of  her  kindness 
are  recorded  there,  and  an  increasing  number  of  readers  have 
come  to  know  her  by  that  name. 

The  question  came  immediately  and  could  not  be  post- 
poned, in  what  manner  these  parables  should  mention  her 
death.  To  drop  "Keturah"  from  them  without  any  word  was 
not  to  be  thought  of,  and  the  private  sorrow  of  the  author  of 
the  articles  had  to  be  disclosed,  if  at  all,  with  a  reasonable 
degree  of  self-restraint.  On  the  day  following  her  death  two 
parables  were  written,  one  in  the  morning  and  the  other  in 

81 


82  >  ESTHER   T.   BARTON 

the  afternoon,  and  many  requests  have  been  received  that 
these  should  be  included  in  this  memorial. 

Concerning  the  one  suggested  by  the  Taj  Mahal,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  conversation  which  this  parable  records  oc- 
curred in  substance  as  it  is  therein  given.  A  word  concerning 
the  Taj  itself,  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  beautiful  build- 
ing in  the  world,  will  not  be  inappropriate. 

Shah  Jehan,  grandson  of  Akbar  the  Great,  the  first  Mogul 
emperor,  while  yet  Prince  Royal,  married  the  beautiful  Per- 
sian, Arjmand  Banu.  She  died  in  giving  birth  to  her  eighth 
child.  Her  husband  vowed  to  give  her  the  loveliest  tomb  in 
the  world.  Twenty  years  and  more  it  was  in  the  building  and 
was  finished  in  1647.  It  stands  in  Agra,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jumna,  a  magnificent  monument  in  marble,  a  superb  memo- 
rial to  love.  From  lowest  step  to  topmost  dome  it  is  a 
wealth  of  spotless  marble.  It  lies  four  square  187  feet,  only 
the  corners  being  cut  off  to  prevent  harshness  of  outline. 
Marble  is  not  enough  for  the  lavish  splendor  of  the  tribute. 
Jade,  agate,  carnelian,  amethyst — all  the  Eastern  world's 
precious  stones  are  laid  under  the  tribute  of  love.  Moulding, 
sculpture,  inlaid  frets,  scrolls  of  colored  marbles  combine  to 
make  a  gem  of  architecture.  It  stands  there  "in  its  chaste 
majesty  as  though  magic  had  called  it  forth,"  a  miracle  in 
marble.  On  the  massive  walls  of  white  like  "frozen  music" 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        <J  83 

roses,  lotus  flowers,  and  hyacinths  are  literally  turned 
stone.  Art,  architecture,  wealth,  and  imagination  in  profu- 
sion and  power  speak  of  a  strong  man's  love  for  his  wife. 

I  —  THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  FOOTSTEP 
ON  THE  STAIR 

after  that  we  had  circumnavigated  the  Globe,  which 
jfjL  means,  being  interpreted,  after  we  had  sailed  around 
the  World,  and  had  come  unto  the  lovely  spot  where  we 
spend  our  summers,  we  gathered  our  children  about  us  and 
were  proud  and  glad.  And  the  children  said,  Father  and 
Mother  have  sailed  for  Forty  Thousand  Miles  upon  the  Seven 
Seas,  and  have  seen  Strange  Continents  and  Islands,  and 
now  are  they  Home  Again.  Furthermore,  they  have  sailed 
for  Forty  Years  upon  the  Tempestuous  Sea  of  Matrimony, 
and  have  kept  their  troubles  out  of  the  Newspapers.  Go  to, 
now,  and  let  us  give  them  the  Time  of  their  Sweet  Young 
Lives,  and  celebrate  their  Fortieth  Anniversary.  And  they 
did  even  so.  And  we  feasted  and  were  happy.  And  we  lin- 
gered in  that  lovely  spot  longer  than  we  had  ever  done  be- 
fore, until  the  Autumn  came,  and  the  Leaves  turned  Red 
and  Gold,  and  the  forests  were  Glorious.  And  we  enjoyed 
each  day. 

And  when  the  day  for  our  departure  drew  nigh,  being  but 


84  >  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

seven  days  before  us,  I  rose  in  the  morning,  and  the  Sun 
shone  radiantly  upon  the  Forest.  And  I  said  unto  Keturah, 
Remain  where  thou  art  and  take  thy  Supererogatory  Beauty 
Sleep  and  I  will  build  a  Fire. 

And  I  went  down  the  stair,  and  I  gathered  Sticks  and 
laid  them  on  the  Hearth,  and  lighted  the  small  Wood,  so 
that  the  Logs  soon  were  blazing.  And  as  I  rose,  I  heard  the 
footstep  of  Keturah,  descending  the  Stair,  and  I  stepped  for- 
ward and  greeted  her  at  the  Foot,  and  Saluted  her,  and  led 
her  to  the  Fire,  and  said,  Behold  how  goodly  it  is  and  how 
pleasantly  warm. 

And  she  stood  with  me,  and  said,  The  day  is  Glorious, 
and  the  Earth  is  Beautiful,  and  God  hath  been  very  good 
unto  us. 

So  we  broke  our  fast  and  began  the  day  with  joy.  But  be- 
fore that  day  had  ended,  an  angel  passed  that  way,  and  cast 
a  shadow  as  it  passed;  and  the  angel  beckoned  unto  Keturah, 
and  she  turned  and  smiled  at  me  in  Farewell,  and  she  van- 
ished from  my  sight,  and  left  me  bewildered  and  in  sore 
lamentation. 

And  that  night  I  rested  not,  and  the  Dawn  broke  Late 
and  Unwelcome.  And  the  Sorrowful  Sun  had  hidden  its  face, 
and  the  skies  wept. 

Then  I  rose,  and  descended  the  Stair,  and  gathered 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        •<  85 

Sticks,  and  builded  a  Fire.  And  as  it  began  to  blaze,  I  rose, 
and  I  turned,  as  it  were  instinctively,  as  if  I  had  heard  a 
Footstep,  even  the  Footstep  of  Keturah,  descending  the 
Stair.  And  there  was  no  sound,  but  only  an  Agony  of  Si- 
lence. And  I  sat  me  down  in  Grief  and  Desolation. 

Now  the  Footsteps  of  Keturah  while  she  was  yet  Visibly 
near  made  Musick  as  they  trod  the  Common  Paths  of  Life, 
and  ministered  richly  in  little  deeds  of  kindness  and  unsel- 
fishness, and  the  echoes  still  are  to  be  heard  in  many  places. 
And  I  have  not  lost  them  forever.  For  in  my  better  thoughts 
I  hear  them  before  me  for  guidance  and  hope,  and  I  know 
she  is  not  far  away. 

Now  there  will  come  a  day  when  I  also  shall  ascend  the 
Stair  that  slopeth  upward  from  this  mortal  world  to  that 
which  is  above.  And  I  know  that  she  will  be  listening  for  my 
coming.  Yea,  and  she  will  not  altogether  wait  for  me  inside 
the  Gate;  for  I  shall  hear  her  footstep  coming  a  little  way 
down  to  meet  me,  and  we  shall  go  in  together. 

II  — THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  TAJ  MAHAL 

When  we  were  Cruising  among  the  Continents,  and 
Bumping  over  the  Boisterous  Waves,  we  came  unto 
the  land  which  Christopher  Columbus  set  out  for  to  discover 
when  he  blundered  into  America  by  mistake.  And  Keturah 


I  4  k  m       Ink. 


The  Taj  Mahal 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH        -ej  87 

said,  Now  shall  we  see  the  Taj  Mahal,  which  I  have  always 
wanted  to  see  since  I  saw  the  pictures  of  it  in  the  Geography- 
book. 

And  we  saw  it  in  the  dawn,  and  we  saw  it  in  the  blazing 
noon,  and  we  saw  it  yet  again  when  the  sun  was  nigh  its 
setting.  And  we  sat  before  it  and  beheld  its  Perfect  Image  in 
the  Reflecting  Pool,  as  the  Light  faded  and  the  Stars  crept 
out. 

And  Keturah  said,  It  is  all  that  I  expected,  yea  and  more. 

And  I  said,  Keturah,  consider  if  it  be  not  too  good  to  be 
true,  the  thing  that  thou  seest.  Peradventure  thou  art  still 
the  Little  Country  School-ma'am  I  married  nigh  unto  Forty 
years  ago.  Peradventure  thou  art  dreaming  at  recess  over 
the  pictures  in  the  Geography  book,  and  imagining  the  time 
when  thou  shalt  have  a  Rich  Lover  who  will  bear  thee  away 
to  Distant  Lands,  to  behold  Palaces  and  Temples  and  Places 
of  Great  Renown.  Peradventure  thou  shalt  presently  awake, 
and  find  it  is  time  to  Ring  the  Bell,  and  listen  to  the  recita- 
tion of  the  class  in  Geography. 

And  she  said,  Oh,  my  husband,  when  I  was  a  School 
Teacher,  I  never  had  a  dream  so  fair  as  this.  Nay,  I  had  no 
dream  of  life  so  happy  as  the  years  that  I  have  lived. 

And  I  said,  Keturah,  there  be  innumerable  women  with 
ten  times  thine  income  and  fifteen  times  thine  outgo  who  are 


88  J>  ESTHER   T.    BARTON 

Restless  and  Unhappy,  and  who  think  that  they  are  having 
an  hard  time.  And  behold,  thy  husband  is  unknown  to  Dun 
and  Bradstreet  even  in  these  days  of  thy  Great  Wealth. 
Thou  hast  never  owned  an  Automobile,  and  thou  hast  not  a 
Fur  Coat  to  thy  back.  Thou  hast  scrubbed  thine  own 
Kitchen  floor,  and  worn  Dresses  that  had  twice  been  turned 
and  Hats  that  had  been  made  over  thrice.  Thou  hast  prac- 
ticed Economies  and  Frugalities  and  Self-denials  in  abun- 
dance. Yet  what  is  this  foolish  talk  I  hear,  when  thou  sayest 
that  there  had  been  no  dream  of  thine  so  happy  as  the  years 
of  thy  life? 

But  she  said,  All  these  things  are  true,  but  they  were 
sweet  for  love's  sake,  and  we  have  always  been  rich. 

And  I  said,  Keturah,  the  Glorious  Vision  thou  now  hold- 
est  that  was  beautiful  by  day  and  is  even  more  lovely  in  the 
twilight,  is  no  mere  triumph  of  an  Architect,  though  it  is 
that,  but  the  work  of  an  Husband,  erected  in  the  affection  he 
had  for  the  Wife  he  loved. 

And  Keturah  said,  I  wonder  after  all,  for  I  have  a  wo- 
man's curiosity,  whether  she  was  just  an  ordinary  little 
woman,  but  Transfigured  by  a  Great  Love. 

And  I  said,  The  woman  who  could  inspire  such  love  in 
the  heart  of  a  Strong  man  must  have  had  a  Noble  Soul. 

And  we  sat  for  a  time  in  silence,  and  I  said,  Keturah,  if 


A   BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH        cj  89 

it  were  in  my  power  I  would  not  build  thee  a  tomb  like  that. 
But  I  would  rear  to  Heaven  a  memorial  of  thy  Living  Deeds 
and  Words  more  beautiful  and  lasting  than  even  this  Noble 
Shrine.  Humble  and  obscure  must  be  any  tribute  that  I  shall 
ever  pay  to  thy  goodness  and  thy  love,  but  in  the  heart  of 
thy  husband  is  a  Taj  Mahal. 

And  now  from  the  lower  steps  of  that  shrine  I  speak  unto 
all  husbands  and  all  wives,  saying,  Let  not  your  love  grow 
commonplace.  Speak  often  of  it  each  to  the  other.  Do  con- 
stantly little  deeds  that  tell  of  it.  For  this  sacred  and  mys- 
terious tie  that  bindeth  hearts  together  in  that  union  which 
is  the  continual  spring  and  fountain  of  new  life  through  the 
generations,  is  earth's  holiest  temple,  and  God's  best  gift  to 
us  through  each  other. 


Wm 


